


For The Love Of Family

by TrishW



Category: Brad/Lucas, Brucas - Fandom, General Hospital
Genre: Brad/Lucas - Freeform, Brucas, General hospital - Freeform, M/M, gh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 01:04:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 67,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6217399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrishW/pseuds/TrishW
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brad and Lucas are engaged, but in spite of their love, they have obstacles that keep them from being married. </p><p>Note:  This story is based upon the current storyline on General Hospital. It's my vision of some of the missed opportunities. Some of the events have happened on the show and I attempt to fill in the blanks as to how they might have fit in, but I've taken them in a new direction on many occasions. I hope you enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Unexpected Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas is dealing with too many double shifts, while Brad has a problem of his own.

Brad and Lucas walked towards the hospital nurse’s station of General Hospital. Brad touched Lucas's arm. “Thanks for dinner.”

Lucas turned and faced his boyfriend. “It’s the only way that we get to spend any time together, with Dragon Lady still keeping me on these double shifts. I still can’t believe she wouldn’t give me time off for Carly’s wedding.”

Brad knew how much Lucas was looking forward to spending time with his family. Brad wasn’t so sure about it, since he had to come clean about his marriage to Rosalie Martinez, he wasn’t sure how the family would feel about him being around. Which upset him, because they really had begun to accept him. He had no one to blame but himself. “I’m sure Carly understands. It’s not as if it’s your fault. She can’t do this forever. A few more months you’ll be a resident. The new interns will come in and you won’t be low on the totem poll anymore.”

Lucas knew that Brad was trying to make him feel better, but he didn’t share his positive attitude towards things changing. “I don’t think that it has anything to do with me being low on the totem poll. I’m good at what I do. She and all the doctors give me nothing but praise. It's Carly. Dr O has this thing for Franco, that no one gets. She wouldn’t give me the day off because it’s Carly’s wedding.”

Brad knew how vindictive Liesl could be. “I could see her doing that. She is one for grudges. Franco is with Nina now. You would think that she would get past it, but she still blames me for exposing Ben as Lulu’s. I mean Rocco.”

Lucas put his hand Brad’s cheek. “I know what you mean. That’s fine if she holds a grudge against you. It means she won’t try and pull you into any more of her schemes.”

Brad looked at Lucas, regretting all the stupid things that he had ever done. “No way. I’m done with scheming.”

Lucas leaned in and kissed Brad briefly. “I know. We’ve just got one small problem of a marriage to take care of.”

Brad looked down, another stupid situation that he’d gotten himself in. “Don’t remind me.”

Lucas put his hand under Brad’s chin to lift his head. “I told you that we’ll get through this together. I called Alexis, but turns out that she’s out of town. When she gets back, we’ll talk to her. She’ll figure out a way out of it.”

Brad gave Lucas a nervous smile. “I’m just glad that you believe me and didn’t give up on us.”

Lucas turned to head to the locker room and get ready for his shift. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast.”

Brad smiled, as he watched Lucas walk off. “Bye.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad was still at the nurse’s station. He had begun to hate the idea of spending his evenings alone. Lucas was probably right that Dr O was holding a grudge against Carly and him and that was why Lucas was being given all the extra shifts. He remembered how she had done the same to Liz Weber to keep her away for Nikolas Cassidine for Britt. He decided, that he’d have a little talk with the Dragon Lady and see if he could get her to back off. “What harm could it do…?”

He started towards the elevator, when someone called out his name. “Brad?”

Brad turned and saw a woman approach him. “Mom? What are you doing here?”

The woman frowned at her son. “That's not exactly the greeting I'd expect from someone whose diapers I changed.”

Brad immediately was hit with the guilt that was intended and stepped forward to kiss his mother on the cheek. “I didn't mean it in a bad way. I'm just shocked that's all. Why didn't you tell me that you were coming?”

Mrs Cooper smiled at her son “Every time I want to visit, you come up with a reason why I can't and I didn't want you to. So I figured I'd just surprise you.”

Brad looked around his mother down the hall. “It's just that I'm busy. Where's dad? Did he come with you?”

Mrs Cooper rubbed the inside of her hand, a nervous habit that she and Brad shared and shook her head. “He thought I was foolish to just show up, so he refused to come. It's just me. I hope that's okay. I know you're busy, but I missed you. You haven't been home in a while.”

Brad was relieved his father wasn’t there. It was harder to get things by him. He leaned in and gave his mother a hug. “It's more than okay. How long are you here for?”

Mrs Cooper was happy that Brad wasn't upset. “I wasn't sure how you'd react to me being here and I know you've got work and all, so I'm just here through tomorrow. I fly out early Friday morning. Your dad couldn't make it on his own longer anyway. I made him a few dishes to last him, but you know how he is. He wants his meal on the table when he gets home. After 2 nights of warming stuff up, I'm going to have to make him something really special.”

Brad knew exactly how his father could be. Things had to be just so. That realization made him all of a sudden really happy to see his mother. “I'm glad you're here.”

Mrs Cooper smiled. “So am I. I haven't checked into my hotel yet, but I was hoping we could have dinner, so I rushed over to try and catch you."

Brad didn't want to disappoint his mom, but he wasn't about to eat twice. “I just ate, but I've got a few things to finish up. Why don't you go check in and I'll meet you at the hotel. I can have dessert. Where are you staying?"

Mrs Cooper was a little disappointed, but understood and was glad that her son still wanted to spend the evening with her. “The Metro Court. Have you heard of it? I got a great price on PriceLine.”

Brad was very familiar with the Metro Court, but felt no need to bring that up right now. “Yes I have. You should like it there. I'll meet you in about an hour in the restaurant.”

Mrs Cooper turned to go. “Okay. I'll see you then.”

Brad headed back to the lab to finish up a few things. He had plans, but those had changed now. “Dr O will have to wait. I've got to figure out how to get my mom out of town without Lucas finding out about her.”


	2. Good Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad dodges a bullet
> 
> Note: These first chapters are short, but as it develops more they will get a little longer.

Lucas rubbed his hand over his face, as he made notes in the file. These double shifts were killing him. Not only physically, but emotionally. He and Brad barely had time to talk and his family was going through a major crisis. Carly ended up not getting married because Sonny was shot, so he spent some of the night holding her hand. Luckily Josslyn was in Australia with her father Jax, but Kristina was a mess. He wanted to be there for them, but he had to stay in the ER. He started to call Brad, but he figured someone should get some sleep 

Felix came over. He was on the night shift as well. “How's Sonny doing? I sat with Carly for a little while earlier.”

Lucas looked up from his chart. “I haven't been able to check on him. I've been swamped down here.”

Felix could see that his friend was overwhelmed. “Go ahead and take a break. Things are calmed down at the moment.”

Lucas looked around and saw that Felix was right. “Yeah. I guess they have. I’ll run up and be back in 15.”

Lucas closed the file, but before he could make it to the elevator, all hell broke loose, as paramedics brought in 2 gurneys. “We had a multi-car pile up. There's 2 other ambulances. Five injured in all.”

Felix came around to assist. “Guess I spoke too soon”

Lucas grabbed a pair of gloves from his pocket and began to get to work. “Take this one in trauma 1. The other can go in 2. We might have to send that last ambulance to Mercy. Let's move.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad hadn't slept much either. He had a good evening with his mom, but he was suppose to meet Lucas for breakfast. He couldn't lie to him again. They were finally at a good place. They were going to work on his divorce together, but his parents were on a different level. He chose to ignore them, but with his mother staying at the Metro Court, that might not be possible. Luckily Carly wasn't around, since she and Sonny were getting married. He threw off the covers and headed for the shower. “I guess I can't put this off. I knew it was only a matter of time.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas was too tired to shower, he saw Brad coming into the ER and walked over to him. “You might not want to get too close to me. I just finished a 3 car pile up and haven't showered yet. I know we were suppose to have breakfast, but I'm just going to crash in the ready room. I'm sorry.”

Brad had just spent the last hour going over what he was going to say. Part of him was relieved, part of him was disappointed, but most of him just felt bad for his fiancé. He grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him into a hug. “Come here. You look like you can use this.”

Lucas melted into Brad’s arms. It was exactly what he needed. “Carly didn't get married. Sonny was shot last night.”

Brad pulled away from Lucas and frowned at him. “What? Someone came into his house? I thought that place was guarded like Fort Knox.”

Lucas shook his head. “It's a long story, that I don't have the energy to tell. I'm going to check in on Carly and then crash. I'll catch up with you later.”

Brad nodded, as Lucas kissed him on the cheek before heading to the elevator. “Alright. Get some rest.”

Brad felt horrible, but he couldn't help but feel a bit of relief. “Maybe I won't have to tell him.”

Felix walk over to Brad. “Tell who what? What are you lying about now Brad?”

Brad let out a sigh. Of all people to overhear him. “I'm not lying about anything. I had full intentions of telling Lucas what was going on, but he's beat. So I'll tell him later.”

Felix walked behind the nurse's station. “You're not hiding anymore wives are you?”

Brad walked up to his quasi friend. “Ha ha. No I'm not. I just need to tell Lucas that someone's in town, but with everything that's going on, I might just wait. They'll be gone tomorrow morning anyway.”

Felix frowned. “Who? Is it the Britch?”

Brad made light of the situation. “It's my mother.”

Felix laughed. “I didn't know you had one. She must be a saint.”

Brad never told Felix that he was adopted. He didn't talk much about his family to anyone. Just Rosalie and Lucas. That’s probably why they were the closest people to him. “Some might say that. I gotta go.”

Felix began to work on a file, but he couldn’t help prying just a little more. “So why are you hiding her from Lucas?”

Brad stopped. He knew that he had said too much and now he had to worry about Felix saying something to Lucas before he had a chance to. “I'm not hiding anything. I told you that I was going to tell him. She showed up unexpectedly. Now he's dealing with his family and exhausted. There just might not be a good time. So don't make it into more than it is.”

Felix shrugged. “If you say so.”

Brad headed for the lab. “I do."

Felix continued to work on his file, but he had dealt with Brad too many times before. “I know you Brad Cooper and you're hiding something.”


	3. Things Out On The Table

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad has lunch with his mom and circumstances change his initial plans.

Brad had checked on Carly a few times. Sonny was out of surgery, but not out of danger. They worried that he might not be able to walk. He went down to tell Lucas, but he was sound asleep. He had only planned a nap, but it looked like he was going to get a full 8 hours in. He'd be surprised if he saw him before his evening shift started. The door opened to the lab, pulling Brad out of his thoughts. It was his mother. “Hi Brad.”

Brad smiled at his mom. “Hi Mom. I thought you were going to spend the day shopping.”

Mrs Cooper nodded. “I was. I thought that I'd go to some of my old stomping grounds, but so much has changed. There's not even an Asian Quarter anymore.”

Brad had discovered that when he went looking for information about his birth parents, which made it hard to find out much of anything. He never expected his parents to return and they were so devastated about what he'd done, he told them as little as possible. “Yeah. It's been gone for a while. There's a really nice mall near the hotel though.”

Mrs Cooper was well aware of the mall, her son had mentioned, but it wasn't any different than the ones they had back home. “Maybe I'll go there before I go back to the hotel, but since I was so near the hospital, I thought we could go to lunch. I noticed that Kelly's still there. It probably isn’t owned by Ruby anymore, but I'm hoping they still have those BLTs that I use to love.”

Brad smiled and nodded. “They do. Give me a second and we can go.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad sat facing the door and had ordered a burger, while his mother was sitting across from him enjoying her BLT. He had checked on Lucas again and he was still sound asleep, so Brad figured that he could have lunch and get back before Lucas woke up. “How's the BLT?”

Mrs Cooper wiped her mouth, but before she could answer, she noticed someone at the counter. “Rosalie?”

Rosalie Martinez turned around at the sound of a familiar voice. She looked on in disbelief as she approached Brad and his mother. “Mrs Cooper?”

Mrs Cooper put her napkin on the table and stood up to give her daughter-in-law a hug. “You know that you can call me Alice. I thought that was you. How are you?”

Rosalie looked nervously towards Brad before turning her attention back to Alice. “I'm good. It's nice to see you.”

Alice smiled broadly at Brad. “I get it now.”

Brad frowned at his mom. “You get what?”

Alice leaned in closer to her son. “Why you've been so strange lately. Why didn't you tell me about Rosalie being in Port Charles. It explains everything.”

Brad shook his head. His mother was obviously getting the wrong idea again. “No, no, no, no, no. Rosalie has nothing to do with anything. We're getting a divorce.”

The waitress called Rosalie over to pick up her order. Rosalie wasn't sure what Brad’s mom was asking about, but since she and Brad hadn’t had contact in years, she knew it had nothing to do with her. “He's right. I'm sorry, but I've got to get my boss's lunch and get back to the office. It was really good to see you.”

Alice watched Rosalie as she picked up her package and left. She thought that she had figured out what had been bothering her son. “You mean that you're not here because of Rosalie? Why didn't you tell us that she was here?”

Brad picked up a fry and popped it in his mouth. “I didn't even know that she was living here until a little while ago. I moved here because I was offered a job.”

Alice didn't think that was the only reason. “Are you trying to tell me that your bio family wasn't part of it?”

Brad shook his head and frowned. “No. I know how much damage I did by checking into them. You saw for yourself, there isn't even an Asian Quarter anymore.”

Alice nodded slightly. It had slipped her mind. “You're right, I did realize that. It was part of why I went there. I'm just confused. We had a good time last night, but I could still sense something was off. I saw Rosalie and I just knew that had to be it. I thought maybe you two were trying to work things out, but you say you're getting a divorce. Why now?”

Brad knew that it was time to come clean maybe doing it in a public place would keep his mother from completely losing it. “I don't love Rosalie. I'm in love with someone else.”

Alice was relieved. She let out a heavy sigh. “Whew. Is that all? I've been driving myself crazy trying to figure out what's happening.”

Brad wanted to revert to his old ways and just let his mother be happy that she had figured out everything, but he couldn't do that to Lucas. He wouldn't be able to look him in the eye, knowing that he'd come this close and not come clean. “Mom there's more. Much much more.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas had taken a shower and was starting to feel like himself again. It was 1 o’clock and only a few hours before his next shift, but he was hoping that he would find Brad and make up for missing breakfast with him. He had checked the lab, but he wasn't there. He figured that he had missed him, so he decided that he'd just run over to Kelly's and grab something. He'd just have to make it up to him at his break later.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alice was once again nervous. “Brad what have you gotten yourself into?”

Brad put his hand on his mom’s to try and reassure her. “I haven't done anything. Well I guess I have. I've been lying to you and dad for a long time now. Well not dad exactly.”

Alice frowned. “Your dad knows?”

Brad had told his dad, so in a way he knew. “Sort of. I told him, but then I took it back.”

Now Alice was completely confused. “I don't understand.”

Brad knew he was doing a horrible job, so he figured that he might as well just let it out. “Mom, I'm gay.”

Alice realized that she had been holding her breath. She took in her son’s words and all that could come out was. “Oh my God.”

Brad could tell that his mother was caught off guard. He tried to make her feel better. “I'm sure this caught you off guard. You’re probably shocked and hurt. Maybe even a little upset. Dad sure was.”

Alice couldn't believe what she was hearing. “You told your dad but not me?”

Brad was trying to make his mother feel better for not understanding, but realized that he probably made things worse. “I told him, but then I took it back. I was drinking and that's how I got up the nerve. When he got upset I called him back the next day and told him that it was some silly college prank that my buddies had put me up to.”

Alice calmed down and became sad. “But it wasn't.”

Brad could see the change in his mother's mood. “I should have come clean years ago. I was just scared.”

Alice put her hand to her chest. “Of us? Of me?”

Brad knew that it had much more to do with himself than his parents. “I wasn't that drunk the night I talked to dad. The things he said were pretty much what I expected and I felt it was just better to keep it to myself.”

Alice could see the sadness in her son. A sadness that no mother wants to see in their child. “Yourself? Rosalie didn't even know? So that's why you're getting a divorce.”

Brad took a sip of his coffee. It was time for the whole sordid truth to come out. “She knew from the beginning. We were never dating. You and dad assumed and we never corrected you.”

Alice was shocked. “She knew and married you anyway?”

Brad put down his cup. “She's a good friend. She saw how happy you were and knew how scared I was. She was trying to help. I used her, but after a while I couldn't anymore. That's when we parted ways.”

Alice shook her head. Tears began to build in her eyes. “But yet you still kept quiet. I thought that we were close? I don't understand any of this. How did this happen?”

Brad knew this would be hard and that's why he chose to avoid it. “It has nothing to do with you. It has to do with me. I’ve known my whole life, but I didn't want to mess things up. You and dad adopted me. I didn't want to disappoint you.”

Alice frowned. “I'm not disappointed.”

Brad figured that he just picked the wrong emotion. He shrugged. “Okay. Maybe not disappointed. Angry, ashamed, disgusted? Stop me when I'm getting close.”

Alice put up her hand. “Stop. I'm not any of those.”

Brad sat back. “Then what?”

Alice put down her hand and opened her purse to get a tissue. “Hurt.”

Brad was shocked. That wasn't an emotion that came to his mind at all. “I'm not doing this to hurt you. You wanted to know what's been going on. I'm just trying to be honest. I thought you should know who I really am.”

Alice wiped at her eyes. “I've known since the time that I took you to your first tap dance class”

Brad was taking a drink of his coffee and began to cough as he choked a little. “What? How could you? I didn't even know.”

Alice picked up her glass and took a sip of water. “Okay, maybe I didn't know, but I suspected. I signed you up for baseball, football, basketball and every other sport that I could think of because your father insisted. You wanted to stop after the first practice and refused to go back. Then we walked past that dance studio and you begged me to sign you up. Your father thought that it was a waste of money, but after that first class, you slept in your tap shoes for a week.”

Brad smiled. “I remember that.”

Alice smiled back at her son briefly, but then got serious again. “Your dad didn't like it one bit and wanted you to do something else. Try more sports and thought that you just hadn't found the right one and do you remember what I said?”

Brad nodded. He remembered them fussing many times about his tap dancing. “You told him to let me be.”

Alice nodded. “I did and that you had to be who you are.”

Brad all of a sudden came to a realization. “That's what you meant? I never knew. I was just scared that you would stop loving me.”

Alice reached out and touched Brad's hand. “Brad, when we adopted you, I never saw any of your differences. When we moved to Iowa, I know it drove you crazy. You were the only Chinese child in your class and looking back on it, it was probably a mistake to isolate you that way, but you were no different than any other child in my eyes. Your spiky hair and narrow eyes were part of you and I didn't love you any less because of them and knowing you're gay doesn't change that either. I love you no matter what. You're my son.”

Tears started to form in Brad’s eyes. “I'm sorry. I'm an idiot.”

Alice patted Brad’s hand and then remembered something. “No you're not, but wait, this all started because you said that you were in love with someone other than Rosalie.”

Brad nodded. He had forgotten all about that. “I am.”

Alice's heart began to swell. She put her hand to her chest. “That's wonderful. So he lives here?”

Brad nodded. “He does. He works at the hospital.”

Alice frowned. “He does? Am I going to get to meet him?”

The bell on the door rang as someone walked in. Brad smiled past his mother. “It just so happens that he just walked in.”

Lucas spotted his fiancé and smiled as he walked over to the table. “ Hey there. I was hoping I'd run into you.”

Brad got up and put his arm around Lucas's waist. “I'm glad that you found me. I've got someone for you to meet.”

Lucas turned to face the person that was seated with Brad. “Oh really? Who?”

Brad smiled. “Mom, this is Dr Lucas Jones. Lucas, this is my mom, Alice Cooper.”


	4. No More Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas gets to know Brad's mother.

Lucas was shocked and extremely excited. He smiled broadly. “This is your mom? Wow!”

Alice smiled and got up. She was a small woman, about 5'3". Her hair was brown, frosted with lighter streaks. She wore a simple, but nice sweater and looked like most mothers her age. “I've had a lot of reactions to people meeting me, that's got to be the most enthusiastic.”

Lucas realized that he was being anything but gracious. “I'm sorry. I had no idea that you were in town. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

Alice held up her hands to let Lucas know that everything was fine. Then gave her son a sly glance. “Don't apologize. I didn't know you existed until a few seconds ago.”

Lucas turned his gaze to Brad and Brad started to regret ever saying anything. “Stop looking at me like that. It took me a while, but I did it.”

Lucas put his arm around Brad’s waist. “And I'm glad that you did.”

Alice agreed. “So am I.”

Brad was relieved. Lucas was so excited. He had wanted to meet Brad’s parents for months. “Is your husband here?”

Alice glanced over at her son. “No, but when I get home, I'll be sure to have a long talk with him and tell him all about you.”

Brad was happy to have that burden taken away from him. He reached out for his mother's hand. “Are you sure? Maybe I should be there.”

Alice shook her head and wrinkled her nose. “Nah. I've got this covered.”

Lucas had seen that face on his mom before. He realized that Mrs Cooper was a force to be reckoned with, in spite of her small stature. He figured that he'd change the subject. “How long are you in town? My mother is dying to meet you.”

Alice hadn't thought past the idea that her son had a boyfriend. Meeting family hadn't even occurred to her. Now that the subject was brought up she was excited. “I leave in the morning. I'd love to meet your family as well.”

Lucas let out a chuckle. “That's not enough time to get my family together, but maybe my mom will be free for dinner.”

Alice sat back down. “Are you from a large family?”

Brad laughed, as he and Lucas sat down as well. “One way or another, Lucas is related to half the town.”

Alice smiled at Lucas. “How wonderful. John and I are both only children and we were lucky enough to adopt Brad. We wanted lots of kids, but it wasn't in the cards. Hopefully we'll have a chance to meet them all next time.”

Lucas looked at Brad and frowned. “You didn't tell her?”

Alice looked over at her son. “There's more?”

Brad looked like he did when he got caught with his hand it the candy jar. “I was just getting around to that. I not only love Lucas, we're getting married. That is when the divorce is finalized.”

Alice's eyes again began to fill with tears, but that didn't keep her from letting her son know how she felt. “Bradley John Cooper, don't you ever keep anything from me again.”

Lucas began to laugh. “I've got plenty that I can tell you.”

Brad gave Lucas a whack on his arm with the back of his hand. “You're not helping.”

Lucas glanced over at Brad, then turned his attention back to his mother. “We had a few problems with him keeping secrets.”

Brad threw up his hands. He couldn’t argue, because Lucas was right. “Okay. I'm sorry for all the lies. Now if you two are done ganging up on me, I should get back to work.”

Lucas eyed Brad’s half eaten fries. “Can I have those?”

Brad got up to get his coat. “They're all yours.”

Alice watched as Lucas took a bite of Brad's remaining burger and picked the fries off his plate, as he got up. “I could get you one.”

Brad was putting on his jacket. “He's like this all the time. It comes with constantly being on call.”

Lucas shoved a fry in his mouth. “Why let it go to waste? I'll call my mother about dinner.”

Alice smiled as she watched the two men leave. “I'm looking forward to it.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas still had a little time before his shift started, so he walked Brad back to the lab. “So were you planning on telling me that your mom was in town?”

Brad took off his jacket and changed into his lab coat. “I thought about not saying anything. Especially after this morning, but I wouldn't be able to look you in the eye. I didn't want to hear you tell me to come clean again. Then fate changed everything.”

Brad wasn't one to believe in a higher being, so Lucas frowned at him. “Fate? What happened?”

Brad turned to face Lucas. “We were having a nice lunch and Rosalie came in.”

Lucas had nothing against Rosalie, but her showing up couldn't have helped anything, since she was part of the lie that Brad was telling to his parents. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Rosalie. This has got to be good. What does she have to do with this?”

Brad knew that Rosalie was a bit of a sore point with Lucas, even though Brad didn't have romantic feelings for her. “My mother saw her right away and was sure that we must be getting back together. So I had to set her straight. I tried to break it to her gently, but I ended up blurting out that I was gay”

Lucas dropped his arms. He had pressed Brad to come clean, but that must have caught his mother off guard. “She must have been shocked.”

Brad shook his head. “That's what I thought. I apologized figuring she would react like my dad. She didn't though.”

Brad had gone on and on about how conservative his parents were.Lucas's interest was now peeked even more. “So how did she react?”

Brad remembered the look on her face. “She was hurt that I didn't confide in her.”

Lucas stepped closer to Brad and grabbed him by his lab coat. “Now you have. You seemed fine when I showed up.”

Brad and his mom hadn’t been as close since the days when she would take him to those tap dancing classes that she had mentioned. “I realized what I had done to her, that's when we really talked. She knew I was gay all along. The Rosalie craziness confused her, but she assumed I was happy because that's what I wanted her to believe.”

Lucas remembered how it was for him when he came out to his adoptive father and came to the realization that to him it didn't make any difference. “That's what I wanted for you. I'm glad it went well, but it seems that your father is still an issue.”

Brad turned from Lucas. “That's another matter. I told her how he reacted. She wasn't surprised. I kind of would like to be there when she talks to him, but given how he handled it when I tried before, I'm not sure how it will go.”

Lucas wrapped his arms around Brad. “She seemed like she was on a mission. I wouldn't sell your mom short.”

Brad laughed. “Never.”

Lucas leaned around and kissed Brad on the cheek. “Good. I better get ready for my shift and I still need to call my mom about dinner.”

Brad turned around after Lucas let him go. “It's short notice. I hope she can make it.”

Lucas opened the door. “Are you kidding? She’s been pestering me for months about meeting your parents. She'll be there. I'll see if I can get a little extra time. I'll see you later for dinner.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alice left Kelly's and decided to go shopping for a dress for dinner. She wanted to make a good impression on Lucas's mother. She had made her way to the mall near the Metro Court. It took a bit of doing, but she finally found an outfit. She was on her way out of the mall and wasn't paying attention to where she was going. She bumped into a lady and dropped her bag. Before she could pick it up, a man grabbed her arm. She wasn't sure what was happening at first. “What?”

The lady put up her hand. “I'm fine. It was an accident. Let her go and pick up her bag.”

Alice watched as the man did as he was told, then took her bag and looked back at the woman. She was Asian and quite striking. Alice couldn't help but stare for a second before she spoke. “Thank you. I should have been looking where I was going.”

The lady was gracious. “No harm done. I'm sorry if my guard scared you. He's a little protective.”

Alice was taken off guard, but she wasn't scared. “I'm fine.”

The lady smiled at Alice before continuing on her way. “I'm glad. We need to hurry, I don't want to be late for my meeting.”

The attendant rushed to get the door. “Yes Ms Wu.”

Alice again dropped her bag, as she watched the woman disappear into the mall. “It can't be.”


	5. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad and Lucas have dinner with Alice and Bobbie

Alice decided to put the encounter with Ms Wu out of her mind. Brad had given up his desire to know his biological family, so there was no need to mention it to him. She felt bad because they had gotten so close and he had finally opened up to her, now she was the one with secrets. She saw Brad at the restaurant entrance and waved at him. It's not like she talked to the woman really and didn't even know who she was until she was gone anyway. So Alice just put on a smile, as she approached her son. “Hi sweetheart?”

Brad gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and eyed her outfit. “Hi. Don't you look nice. Is this new?”

Alice smoothed down her dress. “I bought it at the mall. I hope it's okay. I want to make a good impression and not look too much like a hick from the cornfields in the Midwest.”

Brad chuckled lightly. “You're far from a hick.”

Alice looked around the hallway and made light of her son's comment. “That's nice of you to say, but you couldn't get out of Iowa fast enough and I can count on one hand how many times you've been back. Should I remind you what you use to call the people in our town? Are Lucas and his mom inside?”

Brad didn't need to be reminded. He put his hand on his mother's back and lead her into the restaurant. “Lucas dropped me off and is picking his mom up. They’ll meet us inside.”

Brad and his mom made their way to their table and he pulled out her chair for her to have a seat. “So what can you tell me about Lucas's family. You said that he's from a large one.”

Brad took his seat next to his mom. “He does. It's hard to meet anyone that he's not related to. He's adopted and if that family isn't big enough, his bio family lives in town as well.”

Alice was amazed. She couldn't imagine living with Brad's biological family. That's why she and her husband decided to move. “Really?”

Brad spotted Lucas as he and Bobbie came in. He got up to greet them. “Really. I'm sure you'll meet most of them at the wedding, but here's your chance to meet his mom. I think you two will get along just fine.”

Bobbie walked over and gave Brad a hug and kissed him on the cheek. “Sorry we’re late, had to run home and change.”

Brad smiled, as Bobbie made her way around to her seat on the other side of Alice. “You're fine. We just sat down. Bobbie Spencer, this is my mom Alice Cooper.”

Bobbie’s smile slowly faded, as she sat in her seat. “Really? That must get a lot of comments.”

Alice laughed. “It does, but a lot of perks as well. I think I got a better room because they thought I was the rock star checking in.”

Lucas smiled. There wasn't really a bad room in the hotel, but he felt no reason to point that out. “Well that's a good thing.”

Alice took a sip of her water. “I have to look at the bright side. I've got no one to blame but myself. In spite of people being taken aback, it's better than the responses that I got from my maiden name. Wojtczak was impossible for most to pronounce and even worse for them to try and spell.”

Bobbie laughed. “I guess I can see that.”

Alice shrugged and looked towards Brad. “My husband John, Brad and I have had our jabs about our names, but we take it in stride.”

Olivia came over to their table. “Welcome to the Metro Court. Bobbie I talked to Dante briefly. I haven't had time to go see Sonny. It's been crazy with Carly gone. How is she doing?”

Bobbie was trying to keep what was going on with her daughter's family off her mind and enjoy time with her son and hopefully future mother-in-law. “I was with her this afternoon, but you know Carly, she was feeling smothered and just wanted to concentrate on Sonny and not herself. Michael and Morgan are there though.”

Olivia was happy for that. “She shouldn't be alone. It's good the boys are there. Let her know to not worry about anything here. I'll be praying for Sonny's recovery.”

Bobbie thanked Olivia and she took their drink orders, then left to put them in. Alice couldn't help but worry. “Is someone in your family sick?”

Lucas understood Olivia's concern and had hoped this would be an opportunity to take their mind off of things, but when you're in the hotel of the person that you're trying to not think about, that's hard to do. “My sister’s fiancé is in the hospital. It was touch and go for a while, but he's doing better.”

Alice felt better. “That's good to hear. So this is your daughter, Bobbie?”

Bobbie smiled at the waitress as she put down her drink. “Yes, my oldest. She and Sonny have had a turbulent romance and they finally seemed to get it right and then this happened.”

Alice felt bad for the couple. “Did he fall ill?”

Brad mumbled into his glass, as he took a sip of his drink. “He was shot.”

Alice placed her hand on her chest in shock. “Oh my god! She must be beside herself. Did they catch the person?”

Lucas figured that Brad's mom had the right to know the troubles of having a large family. There was good things, but there was also some bad and scary things about it. “It kind of comes with the territory. Sonny presents himself as a coffee importer, but he's also involved in organized crime. I'm sure you've heard of Sonny Corinthos.”

Alice had and she nodded. “And your sister wants to marry into this crime family?”

Bobbie chimed in. “That's why it's been so difficult. They have children together and they do love each other.”

Alice understood that. “At least you don't have to worry about Lucas in that regard. So you have two children. That's not a very big family.”

Lucas chuckled. “Well Carly is enough family for anyone, but she's just my adopted sibling. Plus there's cousins, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles associated with that. On my bio side I have one sister and a new brother. The hostess and co-owner of the hotel with Carly, is his mom, but my bio dad is dating my other sister’s mom.”

Alice turned to Brad, a bit concerned. “You should have told me to bring a pencil and paper.”

Brad patted her hand. “I'll send you a flow chart so you can study up on them before the wedding.”

Lucas took a sip of his drink. “I might need one soon too, especially if my dad marries Alexis. That'll add two more sisters. One of which I'm already the uncle to, because she's Sonny's daughter, so she'll be my niece and sister. I'm even getting confused now.”

Alice decided to take Brad's advice and not try to sort it out, but there was one more piece. “So you're his adopted mother? Are you married?”

Bobbie still missed Tony. “My husband died when Lucas was in college.”

Alice turned to Lucas. “That must have been hard.”

Lucas nodded. It was a very difficult time in his life. It was a time that he really could have used his father. “It was, but I'm grateful that I was able to come out to him before he died.”

Alice could understand that. “So you came out at a young age.”

Lucas looked up from his menu. “It sounds like it was easy when you say it like that. I was petrified of disappointing my parents. Being adopted, you feel like it makes it easier for them to stop loving you.”

Alice looked at Brad, who was listening to Lucas intently. “How did he take it?”

Lucas put down his menu. “He didn't miss a beat. He said he loved me and was proud of me. I never felt closer to him. Then he died shortly afterwards.”

Alice felt terrible. “I'm so sorry.”

Lucas put in his order. “I miss him, but before he died, he let me know that I would be okay and I am. That's why I wanted Brad to tell you and your husband and I'm glad that he had the same response.”

Brad smiled and turned to his mother. “I’m sorry I took so long.”

Alice put her hand on her son’s. “I'm glad that I didn't die first.”

Everyone laughed. Since they were on the subject, Alice turned her attention to Bobbie. “Did Lucas tell you when he told his father?”

Bobbie wasn’t proud of how she handled her son's coming out. “Unfortunately not and I wasn't as gracious as my husband.”

Lucas reached over and took his mom's hand. “In your defense it was kind of thrust on you.”

Brad had never heard Lucas's coming out stories. “How so?”

It was Lucas's turn to be ashamed. “I had a hard time accepting myself and made a lot of mistakes. I had been arrested and was at the police station. I was out of control and blurted out that I was gay when she walked in. She was caught completely off guard.”

Bobbie didn't agree. “I should have known. I’m your mother.”

Lucas tried to ease his mother's pain. “I didn't know. I hid it from everyone, even myself. So how could you?”

Bobbie turned to Alice. “You knew. Maybe Tony did too. Why didn't I?”

Brad chimed in. “I always knew on some level, so I never hid who I was, just who I dated. I guess I was hoping someone would figure it out. My mom did, but she wanted me to take the first step. I guess we all made mistakes, but here we are.”

Lucas picked up his glass. “Yes here we are. Here's to a bright future where we no longer have to hide who we are.”

Everyone raised their glasses and gave a unanimous, “Hear, hear.”

Alice took a sip of her wine and had a thought, as she placed her glass down. “I just need to drag your father into the 21st century.”

Bobbie was putting down her glass. “I take it he doesn't know.”

Alice felt a bit of shame. “Oh he knows. He's just doesn't want to accept it. We're both from small families and Brad was an opportunity to keep the family line from dying.”

Lucas chimed in. “It doesn't have to.”

Alice nodded. “I know and given that marrying me, shows that even if you’re straight, there's no guarantees. We were really lucky to get Brad. I just need to make him see that.”

Bobbie smiled at Alice. “You're a very wise woman.”

Brad smiled and placed his hand on his mother's. “That she is.”

Alice took her napkin and dabbed at her eye. “This was suppose to be a happy occasion. I think we've had enough seriousness for one night.”

Bobbie agreed. “Yeah we have. Let's talk about something more fun, like the wedding.”

Lucas and Brad both groaned.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas took his mom home and went back to the hospital to finish his shift. Brad stayed at the hotel with his mother and kept her company while she packed for her early flight. He offered to take her to the airport, but she insisted on taking a cab. 

He got home a little before Lucas and waited up for him. Lucas was happy to see him. “I hoped that you'd be up.”

Brad was in bed. He put down the book that he was reading. “I stayed with my mom and it's been a long time since you haven't had a double shift.”

Lucas got undressed and climbed into bed. “I wasn't sure what to expect, given what you've told me about your parents, but I really like her.”

Brad leaned in and gave Lucas a kiss as he settled into the bed. “She likes you too, but how could she not?”

Lucas put his arm around Brad and pulled him in close. “It was a fun evening. Your mom and my mom are going to drive us crazy about the wedding.”

Brad rested his head on Lucas’s chest. “Yeah they are. I'm glad they got along.”

Lucas kissed the top of Brad’s head. “I'm glad she came and I'm glad you finally came out to her.”

Brad lifted his head and looked up at Lucas. “Is that your sneaky way of saying I told you so?”

Lucas frowned and shook his head. “No.”

Brad pushed himself up and started poking at Lucas. “Liar. You're pretty pleased with yourself. Admit it.”

Lucas squirmed from the jabs. “You have to admit that I was right.”

Brad stopped. “Yeah you were. That's why I love you.”

Lucas wrapped his arms around Brad's back as he laid on top of him. “You were there for me when I was dealing with Julian. I'm glad I got to be there for you.”

Brad gave Lucas a sly smile as he moved up his body, so that he was eye level. “Hmm. How can I repay you?”

Lucas slid down on the bed. “I'm sure you'll come up with something.”


	6. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexis tells Brad how she plans to get him out of trouble.

The Jeromes had found a way to spend a Thanksgiving together without ripping out each other's throats. Avery and Leo seemed to help. Whenever things got tense, one of them would make a noise and everyone would forget about whatever was happening and started falling over themselves to fix whatever was wrong. 

Dinner had just finished. Molly and Kristina started clearing the plates. Molly took her mom’s. “Should I start the coffee?”

Alexis smiled at her daughters, who also helped keep the peace. “That would be great. Lucas and Brad should be here soon.”

The doorbell rang and Julian got up. “That's probably them.”

Lucas walked in, followed by Brad. He was carrying a box. “Sorry we're late. It was hard to get away from my mom.”

Alexis got up to greet the new arrivals. “You should have brought her with you.”

Lucas tried, but his mom didn't like the idea of socializing with Julian. Plus there was Valerie. “I tried, but Valerie was in a mood and she didn’t want to leave her.”

Alexis understood. She noticed the box that Lucas was carrying. “She could of...what's that?”

Lucas held out the box. “I know you didn't want us to bring anything, but my mother insisted. It's pumpkin pie.”

Alexis took the box and handed it to Kristina, who was just coming out of the kitchen. Can you put this with the other 3 pumpkin pies.”

Kristina looked at the box with dread. “Sure. No problem.”

Alexis was glad to see Brad. She had something to discuss with him. “Brad we need to talk.”

Julian protested. “Come on Alexis. It's the holiday. Can't it wait?”

Alexis pulled Brad aside. “The longer we wait, the longer it takes for Brad to get a divorce and he and Lucas to get married.”

Lucas elbowed his dad. “I'm fine with it.”

Julian knew he had no choice anyway. Once Alexis made up her mind to do something, there was no stopping her. 

Brad wanted to know what Alexis had to say. “What is it?”

Alexis glanced over at the others and talked in a lowered voice. “I wanted to tell you that I'm going to take your case to the DA tomorrow.”

Brad wasn’t happy with what he was hearing. “I thought we were trying to keep me out of jail?”

Alexis nodded. “We are. The idea is to get ahead of what you've allegedly done. I've already approached the authorities in Miami. They've got a huge case load. I've done everything humanly possible to find evidence, but there is none. With no evidence there's no crime. Odds are they will give you a smack on the wrist and forget about it.”

Brad glanced over his shoulder. “Then why talk to the DA here?”

Alexis knew that this seemed scary. “We've got to cover all bases. Miami can sign off, but they can still get to you through your current state of residence as a fugitive. So we need them to sign off as well.”

Brad understood, but he was still nervous. “But what keeps the DA from coming after me once he knows who I am?”

Alexis put her hand on Brad's shoulder. “I'm not going to expose you. I did the same in Miami. I'm only talking hypotheticals. No one knows it's you. That's immaterial, as long as I lay out all the facts. So are you okay with the plan?”

Brad was anything but okay, but he trusted Alexis. “Okay. Let's do this.”

Alexis smiled and patted Brad on the back as she got back to her guest. “Great. I'm going to get you out of this. I promise. Who wants pie or two or three?”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alexis walked into DA Hornsby’s office. “Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”

Paul ushered Alexis to a seat. “It's always a pleasure to see you. What can I do for you?”

Alexis sat her bag on the floor and pulled out her notes. “I’m working on a case out of Miami and I wanted to get your take on it?”

Paul put his elbows on the desk and leaned forward. “I don't have any pull in Miami, so I'm not sure how I can help you.”

Alexis put on her glasses. “I have been in contact with the DA office in Miami and we have already ironed out a deal.”

Paul was now confused. “So why do you need my help?” 

My client wants to locate here and I need assurances that Miami won't try and get around the arrangement through you.”

Paul wanted Julian Jerome’s head on a stick, but Alexis clients in general weren't hardened criminals, unlike Diane Miller. “I don't see why there would be a problem. If Miami has no concerns, I don't either. Why don't you give me the details and we can work something out.”

Alexis knew better than to give out too many details. “I’ll be sure to do that, but in order to protect my client, until we've reached an agreement, I can't give you names or locations. Just a general outline. If we can't come to terms, I don't want you able to harass my client. My agreement with you is to protect them from Miami. They've committed no punishable crimes in Port Charles.”

Paul could see that Alexis was a thorough attorney. “Agreed. If I'm ever in trouble, I'm going to make sure that I give you a call.”

Alexis picked up her bag and got ready to go. “I can't imagine you needing my services, but assuming that we can work together on this, I'd be happy to help if you're ever in a bind.”

Paul got up to escort Alexis out. “Then I'll have to make sure that we can.”

Alexis grabbed her coat and put out her hand. “It's always a pleasure working with you.”

Paul took Alexis’ hand in one hand and placed his other on top. “No, the pleasure was all mine. I look forward to seeing those details.”

Alexis left the office and Paul closed the door behind her. “Yes, having you on my side is definitely a good thing.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alexis worked out the details in Miami and except for a small technicality had things under control in Port Charles. Brad and Lucas came into the courthouse. Brad was visibly nervous. Lucas straightened his tie. “Calm down. Alexis said that it's a done deal.”

Brad knew what Alexis said, but things have a way of going wrong. “I just don't understand why I have to appear in court. They just needed a signed affidavit in Miami and that's where everything happened.”

Alexis came in and joined Lucas and Brad. “Miami doesn't have time to try everything. If they can get around it they will. The DA was happy to plea out. You weren't important enough to them.”

Brad was still nervous. “I wonder if they would feel the same if they knew who my real family was.”

Alexis looked Brad in the eye. “It doesn't matter who your biological parents are. You've had no contact with them. You're a Cooper through and through. Which is in your favor. As far as the courts are concerned, you're a small town boy that got wrapped up in big city life.”

The bailiff came out. “We’re ready for you.”

Alexis headed for the courtroom. “Let's go guys. With any luck this will be over today and I'll get you your divorce by the end of the year.”

Brad started to follow Alexis, when Lucas grabbed his arm. “I'm going to be right there. So don't be scared.”

Brad gave Lucas a nervous smile. “I'll try. I just hope I don't pass out when they tell us to rise.”

Paul watched as Alexis walked in with Brad and sat at the defendant's table. He checked his notes. The bailiff took his place by the bench. “All rise for the honorable Judge Harris.”

Everyone stood up, as the judge came in and took his seat. “You may be seated.”

The bailiff read out the case before him. “We call to order The People vs Bradley John Cooper.”

The judge looked over the papers, after the bailiff placed them in front of him. “I've read through the papers. Mr Cooper admitted to a crime in Miami and is currently on 2 years probation. Per an agreement reached.”

Alexis stood. “That is correct Your Honor.”

The judge looked through the papers again. “The DA office has agreed to abide by this agreement.”

Paul stood up. “We had Your Honor, but Ms Davis has misrepresented to our office the deeds of the client. The DA would like to put that agreement aside and pursue charges against Mr Cooper to the full extent of the law.”

Alexis turned to look at Paul, while Brad turned to look at Lucas, who sat there completely shocked by what he was hearing.


	7. From Brad To Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexis and Paul both try to bring the judge over to their way of thinking.

Alexis couldn't believe what she was hearing. “Your Honor, I object.”

The judge didn't want to hear Alexis’ objections. “Sit down Ms Davis. This is a hearing. There's no jury.”

Alexis took her seat and turned to Brad. “Don't worry. He can't do this.”

The judge turned his attention to Paul. “I don't like my time wasted. Everything looked in order to me. How has Ms Davis misrepresented her client?”

Paul leafed through the pages. “May I approach the bench?”

The judge nodded. “You may, but this better be good.”

Paul walked the paper up to the bench. “Ms Davis indicated that her client has never had any punishable crimes. It may be true that he was never taken to court, but he's committed plenty of crimes.”

Alexis stood up to object and the judge stopped her. “Sit down Ms Davis.”

Paul watched as the judge read through the papers. “Ms Davis lead me to believe that Mr Cooper was in Miami. After moving to Port Charles he got involved with several known criminals. One of which is currently on the run.”

The judge looked up at Alexis. “Is this true Ms Davis?”

Alexis stood up. “That was years ago and has nothing to do with the crime that we're talking about.”

Paul addressed the judge. “But it shows a pattern. I was under the impression that her client was just a victim of circumstance.”

The judge didn't look happy. “I think I need some time to think on this.”

Paul walked back to his seat. “I'd like to ask that Mr Cooper be held in detention until a decision is made.”

Alexis again rose from her seat. “Your Honor, there is no reason for that. My client is not a flight risk. He has a job and connections to the community. He came in on his own accord.”

Paul fired back. “The person in charge of that job, is the mother of the fugitive that I mentioned and his connection is the son of Julian Jerome. A member of a known crime family. Mr Cooper himself also has ties to a crime family. He may go by Cooper, but his biological father is Kim Wu. He may be dead, but his family is still in power.”

Brad dropped his face in his hands, while Lucas sat there dumbfounded. Alexis wanted to object, but everything that Paul said was true. She couldn't believe that he was double crossing her like this. 

The judge turned to Alexis. “What do you have to rebutt what Mr Hornsby has said?”

Alexis looked at Brad. Her heart was breaking. “Everything that Mr Hornsby has said is true, but I can say this, Mr Cooper and his name is Cooper, no matter what his DNA may say, has changed his life around. Mr Jones is a doctor at General Hospital. He too didn't ask for his DNA. He wasn't charged for any of the things that have been brought up, that's why he's come forward. He wants a clean slate and he deserves it your honor.”

The judge let out a heavy sigh. “Ms Davis, I commend your client for his courage. I need to take a moment to review the new evidence. Given that the client is associated with a known fugitive, I have no choice but to consider him a flight risk.”

Alexis began to object. “Your Honor..”

The judge got up. “I've made my decision. It should only be a few hours. Bailiff take Mr Cooper into custody.”

Brad looked at Alexis. “What does this mean?”

Alexis tried to reassure Brad. “It's just until he makes a decision. It won't be long. You'll be out this afternoon.”

Brad turned to look at Lucas as the bailiff cuffed him. Lucas tried to protest to Alexis. “Is that really necessary?”

Alexis packed up her papers. “It's standard procedure. I'll go and make arrangements for you to be with him as he waits.”

Alexis gave Paul a stern look as she left the courtroom. Lucas began to leave, but felt the need to say something. “Why are you doing this?”

Paul began to sit down. “I took an oath to reduce crime in this town.”

Lucas didn't understand. “Brad is no hardened criminal. He made some mistakes, but he's put all that behind him.”

Paul turned to his papers. “It's not so much what he's done. It's the company he keeps. He should be more careful of that. You both should.”

Lucas frowned at Paul and was about to say something else when Alexis came back in. “I got you in. Let's go.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas walked back into the room that the guard lead him to. He didn't expect Brad to be in a cell. Brad heard the door and got up. He tried to put up a strong front, but he felt anything but. “Hey.”

Lucas gave Brad a forced smile. “Hey. I didn't expect them to actually lock you up.”

Brad looked around his accommodations. “I guess it lets you know what's waiting for you or makes you get your act together so you don't come back.”

Lucas reached for Brad’s hand. “It's only for a few hours.”

Brad pulled his hand away. “What if it's not?”

Lucas frowned at Brad. “Alexis said that they can't send you jail.”

Brad turned away from Lucas. He had put his faith in Alexis, but now he wasn't so sure. “Alexis said that the hearing was a formality. Yet here we are.”

Lucas didn't want Brad to lose hope. “That's Hornsby’s fault. He blindsided her. You'll get out and everything will be fine.”

Brad turned around to face Lucas. “Will it? There may not be evidence, but I committed a crime. Paul was right. I've done plenty of things and wasn't punished for them. What if I'm finally having to pay for everything I've done?”

Lucas grab the bars. He was determined to get through to his fiancé. “Yes. You've done some bad things, but they're behind you. I refuse to believe that your changes were for nothing.”

Brad stepped closer to Lucas. “Look at you. I lied to you over and over again and yet you're there trying to give me hope.”

Brad was finally close enough for Lucas to grab his hand. “I'm not doing it for just you. I'm doing it for us. I love you Brad. We've planned a life together. We're going to get married. You've got to be positive.”

Brad bit his lip and put his other hand on top of Lucas's. “I’ll try on one condition.”

Lucas was grateful that he finally got through to his fiancé. “Anything.”

Brad looked Lucas in the eyes. “If I go to jail, you won't wait for me.”

Lucas pulled his hand from Brad and stepped back from the bars.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. “I can't believe you. One, I doubt if it will happen and two, I love you. I'm not going anywhere.”

Brad stepped closer to the bars and rested his hands on them. “I can't ask you to do that.”

Lucas crossed his arms over his chest. “You're not asking me. I'm not going to abandon you.”

Brad tried to make Lucas understand. “Lucas, you have gone above and beyond. I've lied to you repeatedly and you keep forgiving me. I proposed to you when I had no right to. You've waited for almost a year. I have no right to make you wait any longer. We took a chance. If it works out great. If it doesn't, you should cut your loses. Find someone that deserves your love.”

Lucas rested his hands on Brad's. “I already have. You and I belong together. You need to stop this talk about going to jail. You're going to be out of here in a few hours and back home where you belong.”

Alexis walked in. She had a stern look on her face. “I'm afraid that's not the case.”

Brad and Lucas turned and looked at the attorney.


	8. The Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad learns the judge's decision, but what does it mean for his and Lucas's future.

Lucas walked over to Alexis. “What are you talking about? The judge said that he would have a decision in a few hours.”

Alexis walked over near Brad. “I know, but he got called to another case. I just got word that he’ll continue at 8 in the morning.”

Lucas was beside himself. “He can't do that. Why can't he let Brad go home.”

Alexis tried to calm Lucas down. “Unfortunately Brad's association with Britt isn't doing him any favors.”

Lucas started to protest more, but Brad grabbed him. “It's not Alexis's fault. I'm sure that she did all she could. I'll be fine.”

Alexis gave Brad a half smile. “I have. I'm sorry, but this will be over in the morning.”

Lucas worried about his boyfriend. “Will he stay here?”

Alexis nodded. “He will. He won't be put in with the general population. He’ll be fine. If he's not, I promise to raise hell. You go home and get some rest. Brad will need you fresh tomorrow.”

Lucas didn't want to go, but he knew Alexis was right. He took Brad’s hands. “I'll be back first thing. Everything is going to be okay.”

Brad didn't believe it, but he smiled to keep Lucas from worrying anymore than he was. “Okay. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me.”

Lucas put his hand to the side of Brad’s face. “You're the man I love. Can't help it. I love you.”

Brad leaned in and he and Lucas kissed. “I love you too.”

Lucas turned to Alexis. “Are you ready to go?”

Alexis rubbed Lucas's arm. “I'll be out in a second. I need to talk to Brad.”

Brad and Alexis watched as Lucas left. Brad lower his voice. “Okay, now tell me the truth.”

Alexis was very serious. “It may be hard, but I want you to get some sleep. I don't know what the DA is up to, but I don't plan on you serving more than one night in jail.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas arrived early and was there when they brought Brad back to the courthouse. He waited for the bailiff to remove his cuffs, then pulled him into a hug. “Are you okay?”

Brad gave Lucas a half smile to reassure him. “I'm fine.”

Alexis got their attention. “They're ready for us.”

The bailiff announce the judge. They stood up when he came in. 

He took his seat and they all sat down. “I've made my decision. Will the defendant please stand.”

Alexis took Brad's hand and they stood to hear the judge’s decision. Lucas silently prayed.

The judge seemed like he was taking forever, but he finally spoke. “I feel that I can't rule on what happened in Miami, unless they want to pursue a case. I'm inclined to put aside the agreement and leave the opportunity for Miami to pursue Mr Cooper at a future date if they so chose. I also can't hold him on the prior acts that the DA has brought up. Plus if I was held accountable for my DNA, I would never be sitting on this bench.”

Paul hopped up. “Your Honor!”

The judge turned his attention to the DA. “I have heard enough from both of you and have made Mr Cooper wait long enough. So sit down.”

Paul couldn't let the judge rule. “Miami made an agreement with Ms Davis based on the same information that she gave me.”

The judge began to bang his gavel. “Mr Hornsby, I won't think twice about holding you in contempt. Take what I'm giving you. I am putting the deal aside, but I'm not your babysitter. If you want to pursue something against Mr Cooper that's up to you. Mr Cooper you're free to go.”

Brad was scared to move. He turned to Alexis. Can I go home?”

Alexis smiled at Brad. “Yes you can and you can let go of my hand, I think you're cutting off my circulation.”

Brad looked down at Alexis’ hand and slowly peeled his hand away. “Sorry.”

He made his way to Lucas who pulled him into a hug. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

Lucas stepped back. “I might look calm, but I’ve completely sweat through my shirt.”

Alexis smiled at the boys briefly, then got serious as she made her way over to Paul. “What was all that about?”

Paul was putting his things away. He didn't look at Alexis. “You misrepresented your client and I'm sure the people in Miami wouldn’t appreciate that.”

Alexis frowned. “Are you threatening me?”

Paul finally looked at Alexis. “I might not have gotten exactly what I wanted, but two years is a long time to look over your shoulder.”

Alexis turned to go. She walked past Brad and Lucas in the hallway. “Let's get outta here.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Julian watched as Alexis paced. She was on her second glass of wine. “I don't understand. Is Brad free now?”

Alexis walked past Julian and shoved her glass in his hand. “Yes. No. I'm not sure.”

Julian went to fill her glass, then came back with Alexis's wine. “So which is it?”

Alexis took a drink. “I'm not sure. I'm not worried about Miami. I'm worried about Paul. We had an agreement, but he obviously had it out for Brad. He brought up that he's a Wu.”

Julian frowned at his girlfriend, who was now pacing again. “What? I didn't think that was common knowledge.”

Alexis stopped. “That's what I thought.”

Julian was just as confused as Alexis about that little tidbit. “So what does this mean about the divorce?”

Alexis downed the last of the glass. “He can't get it. The last thing that he said was that 2 years is a long time. We can't take the chance that he convinces Miami to go after Brad. There's still no evidence, but I can't take the chance of Rosalie testifying, even though I could probably use hearsay as a defense. Plus she's done even more things then Brad. So she could go in with the DA and cut a deal.”

Julian was now the person that needed a drink. “So have you told them?”

Alexis finally sat down. “I didn't have the heart to. I'm not done with this. Paul Hornsby obviously has an agenda and I'm going to find out what it is.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Paul was on the waterfront, looking out at the boats, when Rosalie Martinez walked by. “Hello Ms Martinez.”

Rosalie stopped and stood next to the DA. “Mr Hornsby? What brings you to the waterfront?”

Paul talked casually over his shoulder. “I just finished a tough case and needed to clear my head.”

Rosalie tightened her coat around herself, to ward off the chilly wind coming off the water. “Did you win?”

Paul stuffed his hands into his pockets. “It wasn't the perfect outcome, but you’ll remain Mrs Cooper for at least the next 2 years. Which gives me time to accomplish my goal.”

Rosalie wasn't happy being married to Brad. She didn't like having her life on hold. “I don't see what difference it makes. It's not like he has contact with the Wu family. That was what you thought would happen when he checked into his past.”

Paul realized that things didn't go as planned, but things would be much worse if he allowed them to run their course. “True, but I can't allow him to marry Lucas Jones.”

Rosalie wasn't sure what the problem was. “Why not? They love each other.”

Paul turned to Rosalie. “The way things stand, I have an in to the Wu family if need be. A Cooper, Jones marriage may seem like an innocent thing on the surface, but not only is Brad a descendent of the Wu family, Lucas is the biological son of Julian Jerome and the brother of Carly Jax, who has just married Sonny Corinthos, in spite of my efforts to stop that from happening.”

Rosalie was starting to understand. “I get it now.”

Paul was pleased. “That's good to know. I'm sure they are unaware, but their union could bring a peace in the five families that has not been seen in years.”

Rosalie let out a sigh. “And that can't happen.”

Paul shook his head. “My control is dependent on chaos between the various families. So you need to stay married to Brad as long as you can.”

Rosalie adjusted her coat again and began to go. “I understand, but I don't like it.”

Paul spoke behind Rosalie as she left. “You owe it to the cartel. It allows you to have the freedom that you enjoy so much Susan.”

Rosalie didn't agree. “This isn't exactly freedom and don't call me Susan.”

Paul began to walk in the opposite direction. “As you wish. Now I need to make sure Ms Davis doesn't mess up my plan.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad was getting out of bed, when Lucas pulled him by the arm. “Where are you going?”

Brad fell back into the bed. “I was going to get a drink of water.”

Lucas let go of his boyfriend’s arm. “Fine, but hurry back.”

Brad got up and walked into the kitchen. “If it was up to me I'd never leave that bed, but tomorrow I have to go back to work.”

Lucas adjusted the covers around himself and frowned. “Take another day.”

Brad returned with an extra bottle of water for Lucas. “I want to get back to normal.”

Lucas took the water that was being offered. “We've just been through an ordeal. I'll take the day off too. We can go into the city. Maybe see a play.”

Brad actually thought that sounded like a good idea. “That sounds amazing, but you don't have to try and take my mind off things.”

That wasn't Lucas's only reason. “I've wanted to do that for a while. We haven't taken time for ourselves since we first got engaged.”

Brad put his bottle on the nightstand. “True we haven't, but doing something right now, just draws attention to what just happened. Tonight was enough.”

Lucas put his bottle down and put his arm around Brad's shoulder. “Tonight wasn't anything special.”

Brad didn't agree. “Anytime I'm with you it's special. We don't have to leave town for that.”

Lucas smiled at Brad. “I feel the same way.”

Brad started to move away from Lucas. “Well, I guess that means that we should turn in then.”

Lucas tightened his arm around Brad and placed his hand on his cheek to pull him into a kiss. “You sure about that?”

Brad smiled into the kiss. “Ummm. Oh the hell with it.”


	9. Christmas Tidings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad makes a big decision and he and Lucas share Christmas with family.

Brad was on his way to the lab, when a familiar voice called him. “Mr Cooperr, we need to talk.”

Brad really wasn't up to dealing with Liesl Obrecht, but he had no choice. “What do you want?”

Liesl didn't like Brad's tone. “Aren't you in enough trouble? I just wanted to make sure that things went well yesterday for you in court.”

All Brad could think of was if he'd never met Dr O, things would have gone better. He chose not to bring up that fact. “It went fine. I won't be missing work again anytime soon.”

Dr O walked off. “That's good to know. I'd hate to add unemployment to your other problems.”

Brad mouthed Liesl's words behind her back as she walked off and didn't notice Felix, as he walked up behind him. “BRAD”

Brad jumped. “WHAT?”

Felix got a giggle out of scaring Brad. “If you weren't so busy mocking Obrecht you would have heard me. What did you do now that she was harassing you?”

Brad was starting to think that maybe Lucas was right and they should have taken the day off. “Nothing. I'm just trying to get to work Felix. If people will let me.”

Felix frowned at Brad. “What's got your britches in a knot?”

Brad realized that Felix didn't mean any harm. “I'm sorry. The day hasn't started off very well.”

Felix pushed the down button on the elevator. “If Dr O is an example, I could imagine. I just wanted to ask if you and Lucas were going to be at the Nutcracker Ball.”

Brad frowned. “The what?”

Felix handed Brad a flyer. “The charity event for Toys For Tots. I figured that's what Dragon Lady was talking to you about. She announced yesterday that it's mandatory for all hospital personnel.”

Brad looked at the flyer. “I was off yesterday.”

The elevator opened and Felix stepped on. “Then you better get your ticket then. I was suppose to go to Donny’s office Christmas party, but she told me that I had to be there. See you later.”

Brad looked at the flyer. “Special guest District Attorney Paul Hornsby.”

Brad threw the flyer in the trash. “I’ll take my chances.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas and Brad stopped by Alexis’s house to drop off presents for Julian, Alexis, the girls and Leo. Julian opened the door. “Hey guys. Come on in.”

Lucas was shivering. “Gladly. It's freezing out.”

Alexis came to join them. “We've been in all day wrapping presents. Kristina made some mulled wine. Would you like some?”

Brad rubbed his hands together as he made his way over to the fire. “This is all I need.”

Lucas put down the bags. “It sounds good to me.”

Alexis went to get Lucas his drink. “I'll go get it.”

Julian motioned for Lucas to sit down. “You two would pick the coldest day to deliver presents.”

Lucas sat down. “We’re going to Iowa for a few days, so we wanted to drop them off before we left.”

Alexis came back in with the wine. “Are you going to visit Brad's parents?”

Lucas took the glass that Alexis was holding out for him and noticed her ring. “Yeah. Wait. What's this?”

Alexis looked down at the ring on her finger. “We haven't seen you in a while.”

Brad walked over to join them, as Lucas turned to his father. “You couldn't have..I don't know, given me a call or a text message. I'm surprised Sam didn't tell me. She does know right?”

Julian felt terrible. “Actually I asked her and the girls for Alexis’s hand.”

Alexis added. “It was very sweet.”

Julian gave Alexis a look to indicate that she should stop. “I did it mostly for Molly.”

Lucas wasn't buying it. “Riiight.”

Alexis wasn't going to let Lucas make Julian feel guilty. “You two should have been at the Nutcracker Ball. Where were you?”

Brad chimed in. “I saw the keynote speaker and decided that we should pass. We sent a donation.”

Alexis understood. “You can't let Paul Hornsby intimidate you. You didn't miss much. He was pompous. Going on about how he was going to save the city.”

Lucas took a sip of his wine. “Yeah. We've seen first hand how he's doing that.”

Alexis still thought something was off about the hearing. “It still seems like he had it in for Brad. He gave no indication that he wasn't going to adhere to our arrangement. Plus he knew too much. Like Brad being Kim Wu’s son. Had you told anyone that before?”

Brad sat on the arm of the sofa by Lucas. “It's not something I'm proud of. Only Lucas and Rosalie. I was surprised when Julian brought it up at the Nurse's Ball after I proposed.”

Lucas rubbed Brad’s back. “I had mentioned it to him once.”

Julian sat up straighter so that he could see Brad. “I never told anyone. I was just joking when I brought it up.”

Julian was watching Leo and he began to cry. Julian put down his glass. “I'll go check on him.”

Lucas put his glass on the table. “I didn't know that he was here. It's been awhile since I've seen my baby brother.”

Julian put his hand on his son's back. “I'm more than happy to give up diaper duty, but I get to feed him.”

Brad watched as Julian and Lucas left the room. He turned to Alexis. “I'm glad they're gone. I wanted to talk to you.”

Alexis stepped closer to Brad. “What's wrong?”

Brad kept his voice low. “I wanted to talk to you about my divorce from Rosalie.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad paced back and forth a few times then walked back over to Alexis. “I can't make Lucas wait 2 more years. He's happy for you and Julian, but it's killing him that everyone is getting married and we can't.”

Alexis understood where Brad was coming from. “I’m sure he'll understand. It's not like you have feelings for Rosalie. You love him.”

Brad had never loved anyone before he met Lucas, but sometimes that's not enough. “I do, but every time someone gets married, it's going to bring it home more and more that we can't. Eventually it's going to destroy what we have.”

Alexis didn't want to admit it, but what Brad was saying made sense. “I'm not worried so much about Rosalie testifying. She's had her share of run ins since she came to Port Charles. I'm more worried that she'll cut a deal because of them.”

Brad shook his head. “Rosalie wouldn't do that. She's my friend. She married me to help me keep my parents in the dark. She didn't get anything out of it.”

Alexis always thought that was strange. “I’m not sure that I could make that kind of sacrifice.”

Brad was overwhelmed when Rosalie was willing to go through with it. “She was my best friend. We were inseparable since freshman year. I was just about to end the marriage when this mess happened. She never asked for any of it, but she's never complained.”

Alexis couldn’t help but fall into lawyer mode and continued to ask questions. “But that means that she's been as trapped as you've been. Hasn't she ever wanted to get married?”

Brad had lost contact with Rosalie, but Lucas had told him a little about his encounters with her. “You said that you know the things that she's been up to since she's come to Port Charles. The stuff with Nina and ELQ kept her busy I guess, but Lucas said that she had something with Morgan and then Michael, but neither amounted to much. She's not seeing anyone now either. Lucas said that she hit on him just before he found out that she was my wife.”

Alexis laughed. “That must have gone over well.”

Brad remembered that day quite well. “I'm sure you can imagine. Either way, I guess that she just hasn't found the right person. Rosalie won't cut a deal. I know it. I'll talk to her.”

Alexis wanted to protest further, but Julian and Lucas came back into the room. Lucas was smiling ear to ear. “I can't believe how big he's gotten.” 

Julian noticed the look on Alexis face. “Is everything okay?”

Alexis picked up her glass. “Everything is fine. Does anyone else need more wine?”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was Christmas Eve and Brad and Lucas arrived at Brad’s parents house. Alice opened the door, a big smile on her face. “You're here!”

Brad gave his mother a hug. “We would have been here sooner, but I wanted to show Lucas around.”

Lucas came in and Alice hugged him. “There's not much to see with all the snow.”

Lucas took off his coat. “You’ve got a lot more than us, but it doesn't seem as cold.”

Alice took Lucas and Brad’s coat and hung them in the closet, then ushered them into the living room, where Brad's father was sitting. He stood when they came into the room. Alice stepped around them. “They finally made it John.”

John wasn't nearly as animated as Alice. “I could tell that with all the fuss that you were making.” 

Brad rubbed the inside of his hand nervously. “Hi Dad.”

John Cooper gave nothing away regarding his feelings about his now openly gay son and his fiancé. “You haven't been home in 4 years and all you can say is “Hi”?”

Brad became even more nervous. “How have you been?”

John stepped closer to Brad. “You want to know how I've been.”

Brad shrugged. He wasn’t sure what to say. He stood in the middle of the living room. 

Alice watched her husband, while Lucas was starting to think that maybe it was a bad idea that he came.

John took another step toward Brad. “I’ll tell you how I am. I'm sick to my stomach.”

Lucas started to step in, but Alice caught him by the arm. He turned to look at her, then he turned back to John

Brad still said nothing. John was now standing in front of him and he looked up into his face. John wasn't overly tall about 5’11”, but he looked down on Brad and Brad stood his ground.

John continued. “I'm sick to my stomach, because I've lost so much time with you because of my stupidity.”

Brad's mouth dropped open. “What?”

John put his hands on Brad's shoulders. “Can you ever forgive me? When you called that night, I was caught off guard. I wasn't thinking about you. I was thinking of me and my own mortality.”

Alice smiled, as she watched her husband pull her son into a hug. She grabbed Lucas's arm and walked him over. “John, this is Dr Lucas Jones.”

John let go of Brad and smiled at Lucas, as he extended his hand. “I've heard a lot about you.”

Lucas shook John’s hand. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”

Brad turned to Lucas. “This isn't my father.”

Alice laughed and went to stand by her husband. “Very funny.”

John didn't think so. “Brad’s right. I'm not that man that pushed him so hard the he couldn't get out of here fast enough. I've missed you and I'm glad that your mom went to see you. We've only had half a relationship these last few years. You've had a whole life that we've known nothing about. If Alice hadn't gone to Port Charles, would you have gotten married without us?”

Lucas stepped in. “I wouldn't have allowed that. Brad was scared of your reaction, but I encouraged him to open up to you. Good or bad, it's best to know for sure then to wonder.”

John smiled for the first time. “And we're grateful for that. You like my wife seem to be the voice of reason in me and my stubborn son’s lives. He's very lucky to have you.”

Lucas smiled over at Brad before noticing the television. “I'm just as lucky. Is that the Nets, Wizards game?”

John turned to the television. “Yeah. It's in the second quarter. Are you a basketball fan?”

Lucas walked over to the tv. “I prefer college, but it's not Christmas without it.”

John motioned for Lucas to have a seat. “I know. Where did you go to school?”

Alice laughed. “I guess we've lost them until dinner. You want to join me in the kitchen?”

Brad rubbed his hands together in excitement. “I was hoping to get back into the kitchen with you. That's one of my favorite Christmas memories.”

Alice wrapped her arms around her son and pulled him into her, as they made their way into the kitchen. “Mine too.”


	10. Grand Gestures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad follows through on his plan, but how will Rosalie and Lucas respond.

The holidays were over and Brad had resolved that 2016 would be the year that he would make Lucas his husband. 

He and Rosalie made plans to have dinner at Kelly’s. Rosalie was sitting in a booth, near the window when Brad arrived. He made his way over to her and kissed her on the cheek before sitting on the bench across from her. “Hi. Thanks for meeting me. How have you been?”

Rosalie wanted nothing more that to end the charade that she and Brad had been forced into. “I'm fine. How about you? And Lucas?”

Rosalie was his closest friend in college and now they had come to this. “He's fine. Is this weird?”

Rosalie let out a small chuckle. “Yeah it is. No one would guess that we were inseparable in college. Let alone that we're married”

Brad put his elbows on the table. “I know and I feel that it's my fault.”

Rosalie knew that it wasn't. “No it's not. It's the situation.”

Brad nodded his agreement. “A situation that I created. First I drag you into a loveless marriage..”

Rosalie put her hand on Brad's. “You didn't drag me. I was willing.”

Brad knew that Rosalie was willing, but she got more than she bargained for. “You're an amazing friend and I've done you a terrible disservice, but that's over now.”

Rosalie took her hands from Brad and sat up. “What do you mean?”

Brad pulled his hands back. “It's time I set you free and we got a divorce.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Rosalie never expected this when Brad wanted to meet. “I thought that you were still exposed because of your hearing?”

Brad looked down at his hands. “I am, but I've got a good lawyer. Even if you're forced to testify she will make you a non credible witness.”

Rosalie crossed her arms over her chest. “Great.”

Brad realized what he said sounded bad, but it was true. “Come on Rosalie, neither of us have been saints since we showed up here.”

Rosalie relaxed her arms. “Yeah that's true, but won't I get in trouble?”

Brad shook his head. “Of course you won't. You were my wife. There was nothing you could do.”

Rosalie felt better. “Okay then.”

Brad knew the answer, but he needed assurances of the rest. “There's just one more thing.”

Rosalie frowned. “What's that?”

Brad leaned closer and lowered his voice. “That you don't make any deals with the DA.”

Rosalie sat back and didn't mean to, but she rose her voice. “WHAT?”

Brad and Rosalie both looked around and when no one seemed to be looking got back to their conversation. “I'm sorry, but I have to be sure.”

Rosalie had to play this right. “I've been on your side through all this Brad. If I haven't already, why would I sell you out now?”

Brad felt bad for asking. “I'm sorry. I just need to be sure. So are you ready to end our so called marriage?”

Rosalie leaned forward and touched Brad's hand. “If you're sure that's what you want.”

Brad smiled. “It's time that I stopped leaning on others to protect myself. I love Lucas and want to marry him. So I need to show him that I'm worthy to be his husband and stop hiding behind excuses.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Rosalie knocked on Paul’s hotel room door. Paul opened the door and pulled her inside, when he saw who it was. He took a quick look around the hall, then stepped back inside and closed the door. “What are you doing here? Someone might see you.”

Rosalie took off her coat. “It's a hotel. People come and go all the time. No one saw me. I needed to talk to you and I didn't want to freeze my butt off on the docks.”

Paul figured that it must be important. “What's going on?”

Rosalie sat on the edge of the bed. “My so called husband just asked me for a divorce.”

Paul frowned down at his daughter. “What? He can't. Doesn't he know that he'll expose himself even more to prosecution.”

Rosalie leaned back on her hands on the bed. “Nice bed! He does, but he doesn't care. He wants to marry Lucas.”

Paul let out a sigh. “What a stupid time to be noble.”

Rosalie didn't agree. “I think it's sweet. He's in love. I wish I had someone to love me like that.”

Paul didn't share his daughter’s sentiment or buy her desire for that special someone in her life. “You've had plenty of special people in your life. You chose to leave them once they bored you.”

Rosalie took offense and sat up. “I learned from the master. Besides being a married woman hasn't exactly allowed me to build a lasting relationship anyway. I liked Michael, but that went no where.”

Paul had to admit that Michael would have been a much better catch than Brad. “That would have been great. If it had worked, it would have allowed you to severe the Brad sham marriage. Michael would have been a catch. ELQ, Corinthos connection and deep pockets. But you let Sabrina Santiago swoop in and steal him away.”

Rosalie shook her head. “It's not my fault that he bought her damsel in distress act. I went up against her a couple of times. She's no damsel.”

Paul had had enough. “It doesn't matter now. She's off with Carlos and he hasn't given you a second thought. We need to make the best of what we've got.”

Rosalie shrugged. “Okay. So what are we going to do. I can't exactly fight the divorce. I have no reason to.”

Paul went to get his phone. “You won't have to do anything. Brad thinks that he's got things under control. Let's see what happens when his biggest fear occurs.”

Rosalie frowned at her father. “What are you going to do?”

Paul listened for the person to pick up. “Don't you worry about it. By the time I'm done, Brad will be begging you to not divorce him.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas had gotten a text from Brad that he had an errand to run and that he'd meet him at home. It was his first week as a resident and things were a bit more settled because he could concentrate on his current rotation, which was surgery, instead of being pulled in different directions. 

He was a bit disappointed because Patrick Drake had announced that he was leaving and he was looking forward to working closer with him. 

Lucas came into the apartment and flicked at the light, but nothing happened. “Oh great.”

He got inside and noticed the apartment filled with candles. He slowly closed the door behind him. “Uh...BRAD! ARE YOU HERE?”

Brad came in from the bathroom and rushed over to his boyfriend. “Hey. You're home.”

Lucas smiled at Brad in the dim light. “I am. What's all this?”

Brad took Lucas by the hand and lead him to the counter. “It's a surprise for my fiancé.”

Lucas didn't understand. “I get that, but why?”

Brad picked up one of the hor d’oeuvres and held it for Lucas to taste. “I’ve got a surprise for you and I wanted it to be special. I made figs in bacon. You liked them when we were at my mom’s”

Brad was right. He did like them and had way too many, along with the cookies and everything else they had. He took the morsel that his fiancé was offering. “Surprise? You mean there's more?”

Brad smiled, as he began to open the wine. “Much, much more. You're in for a treat.”

Lucas loved the idea, but he just didn't know what the occasion was. “Okay. This is great, but what am I forgetting.”

Brad thought for a second as he poured the wine, then gave one to Lucas. “ Actually Monday is the anniversary of the first day that we met, but that's not it.”

Lucas remembered that day very well. His life had just been turned upside down when he found out that his bio dad was alive, but then he met Brad and everything became right again. “That was a special day.”

Brad couldn't agree more. He was bummed about Felix, but little did he know that the man that would change his life forever would walk into The Floating Rib that night. “It was. Maybe we'll do this again next week.”

Lucas thought that would be great, but that still didn't help him. “So back to the original question. What's going on?”

Brad walked around to the refrigerator. “You've got 2 courses to get through. I'll tell you over dessert. First course, Caesar salad.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas put his napkin on the table. “I don't know what I did to deserve this, but if you tell me I'll be sure to do it everyday. That spinach lasagna was amazing. When did you have time to do all this?”

Brad got up and took Lucas's plate. “I actually made the lasagna a while ago. It was just in the freezer. Caesar salad was a bag. The dates were easy. Ready for dessert?”

Lucas put up his hands. “I'm stuffed.”

Brad put the dishes in the dishwasher and went into the refrigerator. “It's small. We can share it if you want.”

Lucas thought that might be okay. “You said that I get my surprise over dessert, so I'll share one if it means I get to find out what is going on.”

Brad brought out a wine glass filled with something. “It's a cheesecake shooter.”

Lucas looked at the dessert, that Brad sat before him. “It's lovely.”

Brad gave Lucas a spoon. “It's lighter than cheesecake. So it should be good after that lasagna.”

Lucas put his spoon into the fluffy concoction and placed it in his mouth. “Mmmm. It's good.”

Brad followed suit. “It is.”

Lucas went in for another spoonful and noticed something odd. “What's that?”

Brad peered over the table, to try and see what his fiancé was talking about. “What's what?”

Lucas poked at the object. Then fished it out with his spoon. He then picked it up in his hand. “It looks like a ring?”

Brad watched as Lucas dropped it in his glass of water. “That's odd.”

Lucas swirled the ring around to clean it off. Then used his spoon to get it out. “It is a ring. How do you think it got in there?”

Brad took that as his cue. He got up from the table and walked over next to Lucas, then lowered himself down onto his knee. “I know it's corny, but I didn't want to just give it to you.”

Lucas looked from the ring to Brad and then back at the ring. “Brad, what are you doing? We're already engaged.”

Brad was fully aware of that. “The last time I proposed, I didn't have a right to. I was married and lying about it. Now things are different.”

Lucas frowned at Brad. “Last time I checked, you still are.”

Brad smiled broadly. “I already talked to Rosalie and Alexis is having the papers drawn up as we speak.”

Lucas pushed away from the table and got up. “What? You know you can't do that. What about spousal privileges?”

Brad got up off his knee. “Alexis said that she can get around that.”

Lucas walked over towards the sofa. “So this was her idea?”

Brad followed Lucas. “No. She tried to talk me out of it.”

Lucas turned around. “Then why would you do this? You're still at risk of going to jail.”

Brad stepped closer to Lucas. “I'm doing it for you. For us.”

Lucas shook his head, as he began to pace the room. “No you're not. This is another one of your grand gestures. Usually I'm flattered by them, but this is crazy.”

Brad tried to plead with Lucas. “It's not. Rosalie has promised that she won't cut a deal and if they call her as a witness, Alexis can discredit her on the stand.”

Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. “Discredit her on the witness stand? She's suppose to be your friend.”

Brad didn't understand why Lucas didn't get it. “I know. We talked about it.”

Lucas walked up to Brad and grabbed him by the arms. “I want nothing more than to marry you, but I'm not going to do it at the expense of someone else or risk losing you.”

Brad shook his head. “It's not me that I'm worried about. Two years is a long time and there's no guarantee. Alexis thinks Paul Hornsby is up to something. It could be tomorrow or next year or even worse, right before my probation is up, when he gets Miami to come after me. Then all of this would have been for nothing.”

Lucas put his hand on the side of Brad's face. “I said that I'm in this with you and I mean it. I'm not going anywhere. So believe in me. Believe in us and don't do this. Tell Alexis to stop the divorce. You're right that we don't know when Paul might come at you, but if Rosalie is willing to hang in there, we need to be ready with the strongest position that we can.”

Brad knew that Lucas was right. “So does that mean that you don't want the ring?”

Lucas laughed. “What do you say we hold out for the real thing.”

Brad was kind of disappointed. “You mean that I did all this for nothing?”

Lucas started to walk Brad back towards the bed. “Well I don't know about you, but I think we need to work off some of those calories. How's that for a payoff?”

Brad smiled, as he turned Lucas around and pushed him on the bed. “I could be okay with that.”


	11. A Gift From The Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Valentine's Day and Lucas and Brad have a wedding to attend.

Lucas met Maxie at the Metro Court for lunch. He looked at his watch. She was 15 minutes late, then he noticed her rushing in. She had a phone tucked to her ear and held up a finger indicating that she was almost done. “I look forward to seeing your Spring line.”

Lucas smiled up at Maxie and she smiled back, as she finished her call. “I will talk to you soon. Sorry about that. We've got to get the jump on the other magazines. I think this is one of the up and coming designers.”

Lucas hopped up and pulled out Maxie’s chair. “No problem. You're not that late. I'm impressed. I've never seen you in your element.”

Maxie sat down and put her phone on the table. “That's right, you weren't here when I worked for Crimson before. I've missed it. It's a ton of work, but I love it. I’m so glad Nina talked me into it.”

Lucas completely understood. “I'm the same about medicine. I don't know why I dragged my feet. Nothing else felt right. Happy New Years by the way. It's almost Valentines, but this is the first time that we’ve gotten together. How are things with you and Nathan?”

The waitress came over to get their order and Maxie ordered a salad. “They are good. We didn't spend Christmas together, but New Year was okay, in spite of the craziness with Lulu.”

Lulu was another cousin that Lucas needed to check in on. “I heard about that. I knew Dante and Lulu were having problems, but I never imagined anything like that would happen. Valerie was really shaken up.”

Maxie did feel bad for Valerie, but Lulu was her best friend. “It is sad, but Valerie isn't a complete victim. She slept with her cousin's husband.”

Lucas had to admit that what Valerie did was horrible. “Yeah she did and if she wasn't family, I'd have a hard time forgiving her.”

Maxie laughed. “Like Brad? How are you two anyway?”

Lucas couldn't help smile when he thought about how good things were with he and Brad. “Good, good. He asked me to marry him again the other day.”

Brad and Maxie had their issues, but he made Lucas happy. She remembered all the trouble that he had when he first came out, so it was good to see. “Aww. That's sweet. I want you to know that no matter how busy I am, I'll make time to plan your wedding. Maybe we can cover it for the magazine? Get some sponsors…”

Lucas put up his hands to put the break on his cousin. “Whoa, whoa.”

Maxie had picked up her phone and was about to check into some things, then looked up when she heard her cousin’s protest. “What? Weddings are expensive. Gay weddings are quite the rage. If you can get some of it paid for, why not.”

Lucas loved Maxie's enthusiasm. “That's great and if that's still the case in 2 years, I might take you up on it.”

Maxie put down her phone and frowned. “Two years? What has Brad done now?”

Lucas finished up his lunch and wiped his mouth. “He's hit a bit of a snag with the divorce, but we're all good. He wanted to get it done, but I told him not to.”

Maxie was confused. “Why would you do that?”

Lucas knew that he couldn't tell Maxie everything, but he was glad that she was so enthusiastic about him and Brad. A year ago, that wasn't the case. “There's some legal issues. It's not like Rosalie is a threat. Brad loves me. There's no doubt about that.”

Maxie loved the sentiment, but there was a few problems with it. “That's great, but Rosalie holds all the legal rights if anything happens. When Nathan was shot and I couldn't be with him because of that stupid judge it killed me.”

Lucas remembered talking to Maxie about the situation with Nathan back then. “Nathan’s a cop. I think Brad being a lab manager reduces the chance of him being hurt.”

Maxie could think of other ways and was about to go into them, when her phone dinged and caught her attention. She picked it up and looked at it. “I've got a meeting with the photographer. So I've gotta go.”

Lucas was aware of who Maxie's photographer was. “Dillon? Tell him, hello, for me. I think we've said two words to each other since he's been back. You'd never know that we were roommates in college.”

Maxie gathered her stuff and got up. “That was more so because of Georgie. Maybe you remind each of her too much.”

Lucas thought about what Maxie said and got up to give her a hug. “Maybe. When did you get so wise?”

Maxie hugged Lucas goodbye. “All the mistakes I've made, had to eventually have some affect on me.”

Lucas took out his wallet. “Maybe. Just don't lose that unpredictable quality that I love about you. I'll get this one. You can get the next one and there will be a next one.”

Maxie headed off. “Sounds great. Maybe Nathan and Brad can join us.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Valentine's Day had always been eventful for Lucas and Brad. Their first was spent apart. Lucas thought of Brad, but Brad was in the process of being dumped by Felix. Lucas had no clue that he was playing a part in that. 

He made it up to Brad the next year by announcing to the hospital that he was in love with him. This year was drama free for them anyway. Brad walked into the apartment. “So what do you think of that conversation with Kristina?”

Lucas closed the door and began to take off his coat. “I'm not sure, but anytime you preface something with it being for a friend…”

Brad chimed in, as he walked around and got a bottle of water. “It's usually not about a friend.”

Lucas sat down and began to take off his boots. “I don't know though, Kristina never struck me as gay before.”

Brad walked over and sat next to his boyfriend. “You gave her good advice. Sexuality is on a scale. Maybe she's not gay.”

Lucas hadn't thought about that. “You think she's bi?”

Brad took a swig of his water. “I don't know, but she seemed confused. Something must have happened.”

Lucas nodded. He completely agreed with Brad. “I wish she would talk to Alexis. She's not going to judge her. Look at how she's been about us.”

Brad put his empty bottle on the table. “Yeah, but she’s Kristina's parent. That's completely different and could you imagine what she's thinking about Sonny and how he’ll react?”

Lucas ran his hand over his mouth. “I've never had a problem with him, but Sonny is intimidating even under the best circumstances.”

Brad nodded. “Exactly. I wouldn't want to be in her shoes.”

Lucas turned towards his boyfriend. “You were, not that long ago.”

Brad remembered that all too well. He was starting to get tired and stretched before settling into the corner of the sofa. “And I made it to the other side. Unfortunately it’s a process that everyone has to do on their own.”

Lucas noticed his boyfriend and decided to end the conversation. He leaned in towards Brad. “Yeah. I'll have to wait until she's ready. So I guess there's no point to us talking about it. Are you getting tired?”

Brad slid down a bit as Lucas made his way above him. “I am. Maybe you can give me a reason to stay awake.”

Lucas began to unbutton Brad's shirt, as he kissed his neck and worked his way down his chest. “Mmm Maybe…”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Julian and Alexis had set a date for their wedding and Julian had asked Lucas to be his best man. Lucas wanted to get a special gift for the father that had come so far since he first found out that he was alive. Brad picked up a vase and eyed it. “What do you get an ex mob boss?”

Lucas looked around the store. “I have no clue. Nothing here seems right.”

Brad put down the vase. “We've been to 3 stores. They've probably got everything. Don't they have a registry or something?”

Lucas let out a sigh. That's what made this so difficult. “I wouldn't want anything off a list anyway. It should be something personal.”

Brad checked his hair in a mirror before walking over to his boyfriend. “Maybe you're looking in the wrong place.”

Lucas didn't understand what Brad was saying and frowned at him. “Where am I suppose to look?”

Brad put his hand on Lucas's chest. “In here. Give him a present from your heart. It'll mean much more than a frame or candlesticks. Although, I did like those over there. We’ll have to put them on our list when we finally tie the knot.”

Lucas cupped Brad's face in his hands and smiled, as he pulled him into a kiss. “I can't wait until that happens. You're right. What I want to give him isn't from a store and I think I know exactly what it's going to be.”

As Lucas pulled back from the kiss, Brad slid his arm around his waist and lead him out of the store. “Good. I'm hungry. Let's get some lunch.”


	12. To Love, Honor And Protect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julian and Alexis were married, but other forces sends everyone into a panic and the aftermath is something that no one was prepared for.

Alexis and Julian's wedding itself went off without a hitch, except for the embarrassing moment when Lucas couldn't find the rings. Then all hell broke loose when a gunman interrupted just after they were announced husband and wife. 

It was a scary time to say the least. Nathan was shot, but Sonny shocked everyone by walking and taking out the madman. Lucas attended to Nathan and checked in with Brad before he went to the hospital to follow up and make sure that Nathan was okay. 

Brad got home and threw his jacket on the sofa. He had heard on the radio that Kiki, Lucas's cousin, had been shot on the docks. “I don't understand. She was at the church. How did she end up on the waterfront?”

He walked over and picked up a glass and poured himself a scotch. He downed the glass, then poured another before walking over to sit on the bed. He had told Lucas that he was okay, but he was only putting up a front. “You're okay Brad. Calm down.”

It was still early. Lucas and Brad had planned on dancing the night away, but there would be no dancing. This was the second time that he and Lucas had been in a life threatening situation. The liquor began to take effect and Brad had stopped shaking, but events that happened earlier still kept filling his mind. 

He saw Nathan laying on the floor. Blood gushing from his shoulder. Lucas wanted to help, but the gunman wouldn't let him. Brad had never been so scared in his life. He could feel Lucas pulling against him to help Maxie, but he held on to him. “Why do you have to be so damn noble? That lunatic might have killed you.”

Brad finished his drink and pulled out his phone. He wanted to call Lucas, but right now Nathan and Kiki needed him. He was in his element. 

Brad sighed and stared at his phone, then called the one person that he knew would make him feel better. “Hi mom.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas came out of trauma room 2 and walked over to the nurse's station. “Can you see that Mr West gets moved up to a room?”

The nurse picked up the phone. “It might take a minute. I've got one patient waiting to be taken to the OR.”

Lucas updated the file. “It's okay, he's stable and his girlfriend and sister are in with him. What's going on in 1?”

The nurse had just finished on the phone. “Poor girl was shot on the docks. She was touch and go, but they got her stable. Dr Munro is suppose to do the surgery.”

Lucas was well aware of Dr Munro’s abilities. He was a year ahead of him in med school. “She's in good hands.”

The nurse smiled at Lucas. “You know him don't you? Does he have a girlfriend?”

Lucas was about to reply to the nurse's question when the paramedics came in with another patient. He saw Dante was with them and went around to see what was going on. “What do we hav...Oh my god. Lulu. What happened?”

Dante explained that he found her in the water. “It took me a while to find her. She took in a lot of water, but thank god, I was able to bring her around.”

Lucas couldn’t believe another family member was in the ER. “Okay. We have to get her warmed up. Take her into 3. Nurse we're going to need some warming blankets and see if you can find Det Falconeri some dry clothes or he's going to end up in a bed next to his wife.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas stayed at the hospital until his loved ones where stable. He came into the apartment. It's was 2 in the morning and Brad had to get up for work in a few hours.

He quickly took off his clothes and climbed into bed. Brad immediately turned towards him. He laid down and faced him. The moon wasn't quite full, but it was bright enough that he could see his face. He ran his hand along his cheek and Brad stirred. “Lucas?”

Lucas quickly moved his hand. “I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”

Brad moved closer to Lucas. “That's okay. I'm glad you're home.”

Lucas put his arm around Brad and pulled him in close and kissed the top of his head. “So am I. I love you.”

Brad settled into Lucas's arms and drifted back off to sleep. “Love you too.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas had breakfast with Brad before he went off to work. So much had happened the night before. After Lulu was taken care of, Lucas found out that the patient in 1 was his other cousin Kiki and that his nephew Morgan’s manic episode was partially responsible. So his family was once again in crisis. 

He made a decision and before his next shift started he was going to follow through on it. Julian opened the door. “Hey Lucas. How is Kiki?”

Lucas stepped inside. “She's still in critical condition, but she made it through surgery and is stable. I know that you and Alexis are honeymooning, but I had something that I needed to talk to you about.”

Julian lead his son into the room and motioned for him to sit down. “You know I've always got time for you. What do you need?”

Lucas sat down. “I need you to save my fiancé.”

Julian could tell that his son was serious. “Lucas, I’d love to help, but I'm out of the business.Alexis is doing all she can. You should trust her.”

Lucas was happy that his father had walked away from the mob. “I do, but she's got to do it legally. She said it herself that the DA has it out for Brad. You must have some contacts. Can't you find out why?”

Julian would do anything for his son. “Not really, but I can talk to Ava. She seems to have something going on with him. Maybe she knows.”

It wasn't exactly what Lucas planned, but it was something. He got up. “Thank you Dad. I was willing to wait forever to marry Brad, but after yesterday I realize that you never know how long you have and I don't want to waste anymore time than I have to.”

Julian walked Lucas to the door. “I never thought it would happen to me. You and Brad deserve your chance at happiness.”

Lucas gave his father a hug. “Thanks Dad.”

Julian let Lucas out. “I’ll call you when I get a chance to talk to Ava. With what's going on with Kiki it may be awhile.”

Lucas understood and smiled as he left. “Enjoy the rest of your honeymoon.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad walked up to the nurse's station. Felix was working on the computer. “Hi Felix. Here's the latest labs on Kiki. How's she doing?”

Felix looked up from what he was doing. “She's still unconscious. That's why they wanted more test.”

Brad liked Kiki. She was always nice to him. “That's terrible. Morgan must be beside himself.”

Felix had heard about Morgan's suicide attempt. “Yeah. So much he went up on the roof.”

Brad was shocked. “I take it that someone stopped him.”

Felix noticed Dr Griffin Munro in the hall. “Luckily, Sonny was able to talk him off the ledge. There's Dr Munro, Kiki's doctor now. Why don't you give the results to him?”

Brad turned and looked in the direction that Felix indicated. “That's Griffin Munro?”

Felix finished up what he was doing. “Yeah. I'm surprised that you haven't ogled him already in the locker room.”

Brad narrowed his eyes at Felix. “Very funny. You know that I don't do that anymore. I only have eyes for Lucas.”

Felix couldn't help but jab at Brad. “How's that wife of yours?”

Brad had enough of Felix. “Fine. I'll take these over to Dr Munro myself.”

Brad walked over to Griffin and mumbled under his breath. “Lucas didn't tell me that Griffin was hot.”

Griffin was talking to a nurse. “Hopefully we'll know more, after Ms Jerome’s labs come back.”

Brad figured that was his cue. “Then I'm glad I came over.”

Griffin eyed Brad. “And you are?”

Brad held out his hand. “Brad Cooper, the lab manager.”

Griffin raised his eyebrow. “Really?”

Brad had more than enough comments on his name in his life. “Yes really. It's on my name tag. I'm Lucas Jones’ fiancé.”

Griffin’s attitude changed immediately and he smiled and shook Brad’s hand. “You are? It's great to meet you. Sorry about the name thing.”

Brad put up his hand to stop Griffin, then handed over the folder. “I get it all the time. He told me that you're good at what you do. Take care of Kiki, she's a sweet girl.”

Griffin took the folder and looked over the contents. “So I've heard. I'll do my best.”

Lucas hadn't told Brad much about Griffin. He figured that he'd see what he could find out. “I'm sure you will. Lucas told me that you went to Med school together.”

Griffin continued to look over the data. “We did. He was a year behind me, but we hit it off from the start. He's a great guy.”

Brad couldn't argue with that. “He is. Soooo when did you two meet?”

Griffin closed the file. “He moved into the resident hall that I was in. It's kind of funny actually. I was waiting for a dryer and he had just finished. He didn't have a basket and took his clothes out to carry to his room. I noticed that he dropped something. After I got my stuff in the dryer I picked it up and ran up to catch him. It turned out to be a pair of his briefs. He was so embarrassed.”

Griffin was laughing. Brad gave him a weak half smile. “I would imagine.”

Griffin could see that he was making Brad uncomfortable. “It's funny looking back on it. Guess you had to be there. We became fast friends and were really close, but lost touch when he moved to Seattle. I was surprised when he called me. Anyway, I need to go over theses results more thoroughly. Thanks for giving them to me.”

Brad waved off Griffin’s comment. “No problem. Anything for Kiki.”

Griffin turned to go. “I guess I'll see you around.”

Brad nervously waved at Griffin as he walked off, then turned and lightly banged his head on the wall once he was out of sight. “Bye. Brad, you're such an idiot.”


	13. Seeing Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas's relationship with Griffin makes Brad uncomfortable.

Lucas came into the hospital. He was feeling kind of bad about going behind Brad's back to talk to his father, but he justified it because Brad was willing to get the divorce without any thought. He got off the elevator and spotted Brad. “Brad!”

Brad heard Lucas call him and smiled when he turned and saw him. “Hey. Is your shift about to start?”

Lucas nodded. “Yeah it is, but I needed to talk to you about something.”

Brad automatically got nervous. Did Griffin call him and tell him that he was acting strange earlier? “Talk to me about what?”

Lucas tried to calm Brad's fears. “It's not a big deal. We can talk about it over dinner when you're off in a few hours.”

Brad wanted to know what Lucas wanted to say, but before he could ask him Griffin came walking down the hall. “Lucas? You're just the man that I've been looking for.”

Lucas turned to face his friend. Brad became even more nervous, while Lucas was curious. “Me? What for?”

Griffin walked up and joined the two men. “You're working on your surgical rotation right?”

Lucas nodded. “Yeah. I’ve just started.”

Griffin placed his hand on Lucas's shoulder. “It's not very exciting, but would you like to scrub in on an embolization?”

Lucas had observed, but never scrubbed in on a surgery. “Is it spinal?”

Griffin smiled warmly. “I'm afraid that it's not that glamorous. It nasal.”

Lucas didn't really care. He smiled broadly. “I'm in. When?”

Griffin started to walk off. “They still have to prep the patient. We’re scheduled for 5, so I'll see you in the OR.”

Lucas was beside himself. “I'll be there. Thanks for thinking about me.”

Lucas turned back to Brad. “Isn't that great?”

Brad tried to hide his disappointment. “Yeah. Great.”

Lucas realized that he wouldn't have dinner. He was about to apologize when he was paged to the 10th floor. “I'm sorry about dinner. It's not anything important. Actually I think you're going to like it. Sorry, I've got to go.”

Brad let out a deep breath. “Yeah. See you at breakfast.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad woke up and Lucas wasn't home. He grabbed his phone to see if he had a message. “I’M BEAT. GOING TO CRASH HERE FOR THE NIGHT. WAKE ME WHEN YOU GET TO WORK.”

Brad tossed his phone back onto the nightstand. “You miss dinner because of Griffin Munro, then you don't come home. I'm starting to think you're avoiding me Lucas.”

Brad got up and headed for the shower.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas had set his alarm so that he could shower before Brad got in. He was just coming out, when Griffin came into the locker room. “Were you on duty last night?”

Lucas opened his locker. “I was here late. I had a patient that I wanted to keep an eye on, so I crashed here.”

Griffin sat and took off his shoes. “I wouldn't make a habit of that. Your fiancé may get lonely.”

Lucas put on deodorant. “We're fine. Except for a few problems that we're working through.”

Griffin took off his shirt. “That's always good to do before the wedding. When is the big day any way.”

Lucas didn't want to explain things, so gave a generic answer and changed the subject. “Not for a while. How's my cousin doing?”

Griffin got the hint. “She's got a long way to go, but she's young.”

Lucas nodded. “And a fighter. She's been through a tough year. She doesn't need this, but she'll get through it. I'm glad that you're her doctor.”

Griffin decided to discard the scrubs in his locker and went to get a new set. “Speaking of doctors. You were great yesterday. I always knew that you’d do well.”

Lucas blushed, as he began to put on his jeans. “Thanks for that. If I wasn't so stupid, I'd already be done with my residency.”

Griffin came back over with fresh scrubs. “What happened? When you moved to Seattle, I thought that you took a position there.”

Lucas sat to put on his shoes. “I was running away from myself, from my past.”

Griffin knew all about that. “I’ve been there, man. You listened to me go on and on about my mom and dad. I finally decided to hit it head on.”

Lucas got up and faced Griffin. “You did?”

Griffin smiled. “I did. I found out who my birth father was.”

Lucas was excited for his friend. He threw his arms around him and patted him on the back. “That's great. I'm really happy for you.”

Brad came into the locker room as the two men parted. “I hope I'm not interrupting you.”

Lucas and Griffin turned around. Lucas had been in Brad’s position before, so he felt he should explain. “Griffin just gave me some good news.”

Brad stepped closer. “Is it about Kiki?”

Griffin shook his head. “No, but at least she's awake.”

Brad looked at Lucas. “So what good news did Dr Munro give, to warranted you two hugging it out half naked in the men's locker room.”

Lucas knew that what Brad walked in on looked bad, but that was no reason for him to be rude. “Brad!”

Griffin decided that he should let Lucas handle things with his fiancé. He put on his top, as he headed for the door. “I should get out on the floor.”

Lucas waved at Griffin as he left. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Brad raised his left eyebrow and didn't try to hide his anger. “Talk to you later?”

Lucas put on his shirt. “Brad, given that I caught you in a lip lock with Felix dripping wet from his shower are you really going to go there?”

Brad didn't think that what he did was nearly as bad. “We weren't engaged and you had just told me that you didn't want to be with me.”

Lucas couldn't believe that Brad was justifying his actions. “You told me that you weren't really kissing him, now you're saying that you were and you were justified?”

Brad realized that didn't come off the way that he wanted to, but that didn't change one thing. “Are you going to tell me why you were hugging Griffin Munro or not?”

Lucas grabbed his coat and headed for the door. “He found out who his birth father is and I was congratulating him. After all the lies, I've stood by you and you’ve got enough nerve to doubt me?”

Brad knew that Lucas was right. He quickly grabbed him by the arm to stop him. “You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just jealous. Look at him.”

Lucas turned and frowned at Brad. “I'm well aware of what Griffin looks like. You're my fiancé.”

Brad pleaded with Lucas. “I know. It's just that you said you had something to tell me, then you didn't come home and I come in and see you hugging Griffin. I freaked.”

Lucas calmed down. He was so upset that he had forgotten about needing to talk to Brad. “I'm sorry. I guess that would make me anxious too. What I had to say had nothing to do with Griffin. He's a friend nothing more.”

Brad felt better. “Then what is it?”

Lucas took Brad's hand and lead him to sit with him on the bench. “After what happened the night of Julian and Alexis's wedding, I decided that you were right. We shouldn't wait to get married, but Hornsby worries me. So I went to talk to my dad. I thought maybe he could do something.”

Brad was touched that Lucas wanted to help. “Could he?”

Lucas shook his head. “He's out of the business, but he's going to talk to Ava and see if she knows why he seems to have it out for you.”

Brad put his hand on Lucas's. “Thanks for trying.”

Lucas looked into Brad's eyes. “We never know when something could happen. I don't want to wait 2 years to be your husband if I don't have to.”

Brad smiled and pulled Lucas into a kiss. “Neither do I and I'm sorry.”

Lucas rested his forehead against Brad's after they parted. “So am I.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Kiki was out of ICU and finally awake. Julian went to see his niece. She was tired so he didn't stay long. Ava walked him out. “Thanks for stopping by. She was happy to see you.”

Julian truly cared for his niece. “Of course. It's terrible she's got to go through this. If it wasn't for Morgan..”

Ava interrupted her brother. “I'm just as much to blame. I knew about the shipment. Plus Morgan brought her back to me. So I can't blame him. I hope he gets the help that he needs.”

Julian wasn't so quick to give Morgan Corinthos a pass, but he didn't want to upset his sister. “I'm just glad he's away from her and she can concentrate on her recovery.”

Ava looked towards her daughter's room. “Me too.”

Julian put his hand on his sister's shoulder to get her attention. “I didn't want to bring this up until Kiki was out of the woods, but I could use your help on something.”

Ava turned to face her brother. “What?”

Julian wasn't sure how his sister would take his question. He pulled his pants up nervously. “You're aware of Lucas and Brad's situation and not being able to get married because Brad is already married.”

Ava smiled. “How could I not be. I remember how upset you were when you first found out.”

Julian wasn't proud of that. “Yeah. I didn't know the whole story. There were some legal issues and Alexis had reached an agreement with our esteemed District Attorney, but at the last minute he double crossed her.”

Ava was well aware of Paul Hornsby's tactics. “Why doesn't that surprise me. Why do you need my help?”

Julian let out a deep breath. “Hornsby had information on Brad that wasn't common knowledge and it seemed that he was targeting him. I know that you got the immunity deal with him because of your relationship. So I was hoping that he might have mentioned something.”

Ava thought and shook her head. “Paul never trusted me and I don't remember him saying anything that would have to do with Brad.”

Julian knew that it probably was going to be the case. “Maybe you can dig around and find out something. Anything. Lucas came to me for help and he rarely does that, so if I could give him something.”

Ava felt for her brother. “After what happened between me and Kiki, I would have died for her to ask me for a paper clip. So I know how you feel, but I can't help you. Paul gives the appearance that we were working together, but he's still got me by the throat. He's still blackmailing me. Kiki still has a long way to go and I've got to be here for her. I can't take the chance. I'm sorry.”

Julian was disappointed. “I understand. If you can keep your ears open. Anything can help.”

Ava hugged her brother before he left. “I will. I will say this, Paul presents himself as an upstanding citizen, but he's not. If Alexis was blindsided, he planned to do just that and he's got an agenda. What it is, I have no clue, but don't underestimate him.”

Julian smiled, as he left. “I won't. You take care of my niece.”


	14. Far From Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad gets bad news, while Lucas doesn't give up trying to help his fiancé.

Lucas and Brad were having breakfast with Lulu and Dante at Kelly's. Lucas was pouring syrup on his pancakes. “I'm so glad that you could meet up with us.”

Lulu put salt on her eggs. “Why wouldn't I want to have breakfast with my favorite cousin?”

Lucas cut into his pancakes. “After being missing in action so long, I'm glad that you still think so. I'm even more glad that the two of you are working through things.”

Dante looked over at Lulu and put his hand on hers. “So am I.”

Lulu smiled at Dante. “We've got a lot to work out, but we both are determined to make it work.”

Lucas knew how that could be. “If you both want it, it will happen. I'm sure Rocco's happy.”

Lulu put down her fork. “That's what I hate the most. Hopefully, he won't remember any of it.”

Dante tried to make light of the situation. “If we get a new house, all he’ll remember is the playset and the new puppy from this time.”

Lucas got excited. “You're getting a new house?”

Brad mumbled, as he drank his coffee. “It's about time.”

Dante wasn't happy having breakfast with Brad. “What was that Cooper?”

Lucas nudged Brad under the table and Lulu grabbed Dante by the arm to calm him down. “He's right. It is about time. That loft is too small for the three of us and not saying it would have made a difference, but letting Valerie stay there wasn’t the brightest idea.”

Dante didn't want to have Brad be right about anything. “I know that he’s right, but Brad has no right to criticize given what he's done.”

Brad dropped his head. “I'm sorry. If…”

Lucas put up his hand to stop his fiancé. “Lulu and I talked through this before Brad and I got back together. What Brad did was wrong, but he apologized for it. Would you want people continuing to bring up what happened with you and my cousin Valerie two, three or five years from now?”

Brad tried to stop his boyfriend. “It's okay Lucas.”

Lucas glance at Brad. “No it's not. Dante sits here talking about starting things over with Lulu. How can that happen if they don't put the things they've done to each other behind them.”

Dante adjusted himself in his seat. “What happened between me and Valerie was a mistake. You can't compare it to what Brad did with Britt.”

Lulu chimed in. “Maybe not, but it is similar to what Maxie did. It took a while, but I got past it and Maxie and I are close again. No one expects you and Brad to be that way, but Brad is eventually going to marry Lucas and we're going to be quasi family. So like Olivia, Sonny and Morgan. I think you need to find a way to get past his mistakes and move on, like we're going to do with each other.”

Dante put his arm around Lulu’s shoulder. “Well I don't love Brad, but you're right. We have Rocco and that's what's important.”

Brad was happy that Dante was willing to get past what he'd done. “Thank you.”

Dante turned his attention to Brad and held out his hand. “Don't thank me. Lucas is right. I wouldn't want people holding my mistakes against me and lately I've made plenty of them.”

Brad shook Dante's hand and smiled, as Lucas put his arm around him and reached for Lulu’s hand. “Glad that's settled. Now let's talk about that house.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Julian had called Lucas. He wanted to let him know what was going on. Alexis also wanted to talk with Brad, so they both stopped out on their day off. 

Julian opened the door and Alexis was standing in the living room, as the boys came in. “Glad you guys could come by.”

Brad was a little nervous. “When your lawyer calls…”

Alexis wished that she could reassure her client, but she just went for humor. “Keep doing what I say and we’ll be fine. Let's go in my office.”

Brad turned and looked at Lucas, wishing that he could come. Lucas reached out and grabbed his hand. “I'll be right here when you're done.”

Brad gave Lucas a nervous smile, before following Alexis into the other room.

Lucas turned back to Julian, as he sat down. “Do you know what's going on?”

Julian sat next to his son. “No I don't, but Alexis has been making calls all day, so I don't think it's good.”

Lucas let out a breath and ran his hands over his face. “Okay. So what did Ava have to say?”

Julian leaned back and crossed his leg. “Nothing good.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alexis took a seat at her desk and grabbed her glasses, while Brad took a seat. “I can tell from the look on your face that this isn't good.”

Alexis sighed. “To be honest, I'm not sure. All I know is that the DA is in the process of bringing charges.”

Brad leaned forward. “Based on what? You said that you couldn't find anything.”

Alexis put a photo in front of Brad. “I couldn't, but they claim they found something. Do you recognize this?”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas was up and pacing. “So Ava doesn't know anything, but agrees that there's something fishy about the DA.”

Julian got up. “Pretty much, but we knew that. So we're back at square one. Now Brad might be in serious trouble because of it, but there's nothing we can do.”

Lucas stopped pacing and turned to face Julian. “Yeah there is.”

Julian wasn't sure what his son was talking about. “What do you suggest?”

Lucas stepped closer to his father. “I want you to set up a meeting for me with Ms Wu.”  
~~~~~~~~~  
Brad looked at the picture. “I don't remember what the knife looked like. All I saw was blood.”

Alexis took the picture back. “Miami claims that it was miss filed. It was found on a John Doe, whose body was never claimed and they cremated.”

Brad was afraid to ask. “Do they have a picture of the John Doe?”

Alexis shook her head and put the picture back in her file. “That's the problem. With the knife miss filed, it wasn't with the picture or anything. There's an officer that claims that he remembers the occurrence. It's not a case that they could win at trial. So Miami’s position hasn't changed. They're happy they got anything.”

Brad felt a little better. “But?”

Alexis leaned forward on her desk. “That doesn't stop Hornsby from pursuing a case.”

Brad leaned back in his chair and threw up his hands. “Of course it doesn't. What did I do to this guy?”

Alexis refused to let Brad lose hope. “I don't know, but I'm not going to let him railroad you.”  
~~~~~~~~~  
Julian was not liking what he was hearing. “You don't know what you're asking.”

Julian was absolutely right. Lucas had no clue what he thought talking to Ms Wu would accomplish. “Hornsby brought up that Brad was a Wu. You said that Ava said that he must be after something. Maybe that's it.”

Julian wasn't sure what his son was getting at. “I'm not following.”

After Lucas started to think through it all, it actually made some sense. “You're out of the business. Sonny just got out of a wheelchair and he just neutralized Ava by using her to take down a drug ring. She won't be trusted by the mob anymore. Maybe his next target is the Wus and he's using Brad to do it.”

Julian didn't like what he was hearing. “If that's true, you should be no where near Ms Wu. She'll think you were part of it.”

Lucas shook his head. “Not if I expose Hornsby.”

Julian thought that might work. “Okay, but I'll do it.”

Lucas shook his head. “Brad is my fiancé. I want to help bring this bastard down.”

Julian had never been more proud of his son. He patted him on the shoulder. “Okay. I'll set up the meeting.  
~~~~~~~~~  
Alexis and Brad came back into the room. Lucas and Julian had sat back down, but got up when they heard them. Lucas walked over to Brad. “Is everything okay?”

Brad turned back to look at Alexis, who nodded at him. He then turned back towards Lucas and took his hand. “I've got a good lawyer. So I believe they will be. Let's go home.”

Julian let the boys out. After he closed the door, he walked over to his wife. “Is that going to be enough?”

Alexis wrapped her arms around Julian's waist and leaned her head on his chest. “I honestly don't know. I think he and Lucas are in for a bumpy ride.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad and Lucas didn't talk much on the way home. They were both deep in thought. 

They came into the apartment and Lucas decided that he’d break the silence. “Do you want to talk about what Alexis told you?”

Brad walked over to the bed and was taking off his coat. “There's no point.”

Lucas rushed over to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around his waist from behind, then rested his head on Brad’s shoulder and talked in a singy tone. “It could make you feel better.”

Lucas was right. It could. Brad let out a sigh and crossed his arms in front of himself, grabbing Lucas's elbows and pulling them so that his hug was tighter around him. “You know I can't.”

Lucas whispered into Brad's ear. He thought maybe if he pleaded, Brad would finally open up. “Maybe no details of the event, but how about something vague. I want to be there for you, but it's hard when I don't know what you're going through.”

Brad leaned his head back. “You're here with me. That's enough.”

Lucas turned Brad around. “I know that you're not used to leaning on anyone, but that's what you do when you're in love. Stop trying to protect me and let me help you. Let me be there for you. If only a little.”

Brad was fine until he looked into Lucas's eyes. He shook his head. “You just don't get it.”

Lucas bent down to look at Brad at eye level. “Then explain it to me.”

Brad pulled back and turned away from Lucas. “You're the one thing I've gotten right. Everyone in my life has been hurt in one way or another by my lies. People that only wanted to help me. I can say this. It's not over. The DA is making good on his promise. He's not going to just let what I did go.”

Lucas's chest became tight. He had hoped that Julian was wrong. “I don't get it. Why is he so determined to charge you?”

Brad felt better after getting that little out. He turned around to face Lucas. “He's the DA. He's sworn to eliminate crime.”

Lucas began to pace. “You're not a criminal.”

Brad sat on the foot of the bed. “I admitted to a crime.”

Lucas walked back over to Brad. “Okay, maybe you did, but why do people like Sonny, Ava and even my dad never go to jail.”

Brad shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know. It's not like we didn't think this could happen.”

Lucas frowned down at his boyfriend. “You sound like you're giving in.”

Brad had faith in Alexis, but maybe she wasn't enough. “Maybe it’s karma. Like Hornsby said, I've gotten away with a lot and not had to pay for it. Maybe it's finally catching up with me.”

Lucas sat on the bed next to Brad. “You can't really believe that. What has the last few years been all about? We're going to beat this.”

The way Lucas talked, gave Brad some hope. “You make me believe that we can.”

Lucas pulled Brad into a hug. “That's better.”

Brad wrapped his arms around Lucas. “I just wish I knew what Hornsby was up to.”

Lucas kissed Brad on the cheek, hoping that Ms Wu would be able to help them. “With some luck we might find out.”


	15. Show No Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas first tries to get Brad's mind off of things, before taking steps to save the man that he loves.

Lucas wanted to take Brad’s mind off of things. So they went to The Floating Rib for dinner. “I can't believe that you've never played pool.”

Brad took the pool cue. “What can I say, I'm not athletic.”

Lucas began to rack the balls. “It's not exactly a sport. Let's see what you've got. You can break.”

Brad frowned at his boyfriend, as he rolled the white ball to him. “Why would I be interested in anything that has to do with breaking balls. No gay man should be.”

Lucas laughed and walked around the table. “I guess that I can see your point. Knock the cue ball into the colored ones and see if any fall into the pockets.”

Brad picked up the cue ball and placed it on the dot on the table. “That's better, but talking about balls knocking is getting me hot.”

Lucas was starting to get frustrated. “Just try it.”

Brad put the cue stick on the table and pushed it towards the ball. Causing it to fly off the table.

Lucas looked around, a bit embarrassed, as he went to retrieve the ball. “You weren't kidding.”

Brad leaned the stick against the table. “This was obviously a bad idea.”

Lucas came back with the ball. “No it's not. I'll help you.”

Brad watched as Lucas put the ball on the table. He took the stick and leaned over the table to show him what to do. Brad didn't see the point in any of it. “I think it's hopeless.”

Lucas positioned his cue to lined up his shot. “Just watch me. It's like this.”

Brad was watching his fiancé, but not what he was doing on the table. “Um hum. I'm starting to see why you like this game.”

Lucas noticed what Brad was doing and stood up. “Stop it! I wanted you to see how I was holding the stick. Come here!”

Brad came over, but wasn't happy about it. “What's the problem. I've seen you hold your stick and I was just getting into the game.”

Lucas shook his head. As he put the cue in Brad's hand and adjusted his fingers, to show him what to do. “It's like this. You cradle it like a chop stick.”

Brad stood up and stared at Lucas, obviously feeling insulted. “I know that I'm Chinese, but I was raised by two white people in a corn field.”

Lucas felt bad. “Sorry. Just lean over the table and I'll help you.”

Brad leaned forward and Lucas positioned himself behind him, to help him with the shot. “We could have done this at home.”

Lucas was starting to think that his boyfriend was right and this was a waste of time. He decided that he'd give him some incentive to focus. “I tell you what, if you can get 5 balls to go in, I'll do whatever you want when we get home.”

Brad suddenly got serious. He glanced over his shoulder. “Whatever?”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas stood in amazement as Brad knocked the last ball in. “I was conned.”

Brad smiled as he leaned on his pool cue and grinned slyly. “Maybe just a little.”

Dillon came into TFR with Valerie. “Are you two done?”

Lucas shook his head and turned away from Brad, as he leaned his cue stick against the table. “Yeah we are. Hey Dillon. How are you doing?”

Dillon saw who it was and walked up, they shook hands and hugged. “Hey man! I didn't know it was you. How are you?”

Lucas glanced back at Brad. “Besides being scammed by my fiancé, I'm fine.”

Brad walked up next to Lucas. “Do you know every hot guy in town?”

Dillon blushed a bit. “You wouldn't know it, but we were roommates in college. Maxie told me that she had lunch with you. Things have been crazy since I've been back. First Lulu and now the new job and my mom.”

Lucas had heard about Tracy. “I know that Tracy and I had our problems way back when, but I've always admired her fire. I hope she's doing better.”

Dillon nodded. “She is. Thanks to Brad. He kind of bent the rules and helped Dr Munro figure out what was wrong.”

Lucas turned to Brad and raised an eyebrow. “Did he now?”

Brad tried to not look Lucas in the eye. “I was trying to help.”

Dillon defended Brad. “Dr Mayes refused to listen and Dr Munro turned out to be right. I'm truly grateful Brad helped.”

Lucas put his arm around Brad’s shoulder. “It's okay, when you use your scheming for the greater good.”

Valerie had been quiet during the whole exchange. “Are we going to play pool or not?”

Dillon had forgotten about the game. “You two want to go against us?”

Lucas thought that Brad had had enough. He glanced over at him. “We were just about to leave.”

Brad picked up the stick. “I think we could play a game or two.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Rosalie came into her father's hotel room. “I thought that you were worried about us being seen together.”

Paul closed the door and walked over to get a drink for his daughter. “I thought that you might want to know that your sham marriage might soon be over.”

Rosalie frowned at her father, as she sat on the edge of the bed. “I thought you wanted me to stay in it?”

Paul walked over with her drink and held it out for her. “I did, until I figured out what my next move was and I have.”

Rosalie took the glass, still not sure why things had changed. “What have you decided?”

Paul took a sip of his drink. “I’m going to send Brad to jail.”

Rosalie almost spilled her drink all over herself. “What? On what charges?”

Paul ignored his daughter’s obvious shock. “There's a loophole to his attorney’s agreement, that she was using me to get around and I decided to exercise it.”

Rosalie still didn't understand. “Why? You think Brad being in jail, is better than him being tied to me? How will that help you with the Wus?”

Paul turned and walked back to the bar. “After the gun deal exposing my so called relationship with the Feds, I've had to adjust my position. Instead of fearing the bond between Brad and Lucas, I'm going to embrace it.”

Rosalie had composed herself a bit. “Embrace it? How?”

Paul put down his glass, to add more ice to his drink. “One thing that came out of the Julian, Alexis wedding, Sonny and Julian are protective of their families. That family includes Lucas. He loves Brad and I think he’ll do anything to protect him and I'm banking that will include asking them for help. Which I plan to use to my advantage.”

Rosalie began to understand. “You'll make a pact with one of them.”

Paul picked up his drink again. “With any luck, both and neither would be the wiser. 

Rosalie was impressed with her father’s nerve. “That is bold. You're playing with fire though.”

Paul knew what he was doing. “I already have Ava where I want her. Sonny is back in power and Julian is supposedly out of the mob, but I'll have them under my control as well.”

Rosalie had one more question. “What about the Wu triad?”

Paul finished his drink. “Brad hasn't contacted them and they know nothing about him. I don't see the Wus coming to the rescue of a wayward family member that doesn't seem to care about them.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas walked into the room and kept his eye on the large man that was holding the door for him. “Ms Wu will be with you in a minute.”

Lucas looked around the ornate room. Filled with ancient Chinese art and paintings. He made his way towards a seating area. A woman came in from another room. “Good evening Dr Jones.”

Lin Wu was petite, with dark hair streaked with grey. She was quite striking. She looked like she was in her 50s, but given that she was Brad's grandmother, she had to be near her 70s. “Good evening.”

The woman took a seat and motioned for Lucas to do the same. “I know that you are Julian Jerome’s son, but your name reminds me of a name from the past. Frisco Jones.”

Lucas took the seat that Ms Wu indicated. “Frisco Jones is my uncle. He's my adoptive father's brother.”

Lin Wu placed the tips of her fingers together in front of her. “Frisco Jones is no friend of my family. He may not have killed him, but he was instrumental in the death of my son. I met with you as a common courtesy to the Jerome family. I will not help a descendent of the Jones one. Adoptive or not.”

Lucas leaned towards Ms Wu, but when the guard seemed to object, he quickly sat back again. “I'm not here for me. I'm here for your grandson.”

Ms Wu sat up with a fright. “My grandson? What's happened to him? Is he sick?”

Lucas put up his hands to try and calm the woman. “No. He's fine physically, but he’s in danger of going to jail.”

Lin sat back. Now much calmer. “I don't know who you are talking about. My grandson is in Pennsylvania at college, along with his parents.”

Lucas wasn't sure who Ms Wu was talking about. “His parents?”

Tea was brought in and sat on the table. “Yes. My daughter Jade and her husband, Yank. Would you like some tea?”

Lucas looked at the tea on the table and nodded. “I'm not talking about your daughter.”

Lin accepted the tea that her maid handed her. “I have no other children. Kim was my only other child and as I said earlier, he's dead.”

Lucas accepted his tea and rejected the milk and sugar that was offered. “Kim may be dead, but he does have a son.”

Lin Wu frowned at Lucas over her teacup.


	16. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas continues to plead his case and Brad is surprised at the hospital, by an unexpected visitor.

Lucas had just told Lin Wu, the head of the mafia triad, that she had a grandson, that was fathered by her dead son. Everything in him said that this was a bad idea, but he had to do this for Brad.

Lin calmly sipped her tea. “I'm not sure who you are referring to, but my son Kim had no children. If he did, I would know.”

Lucas felt the need to explain. So he told the story that Brad had told him and hoped that he hadn't embellished. “Kim was didn't know that he had a child. He was known for using his position and attracted many women.”

Ms Wu did not deny what Lucas was saying. “He was young and very handsome. Many of those women were not worthy. I'm sure it’s just one of them trying to stake a claim.”

Lucas shook his head. “Yes, it's true from what I heard. This woman, girl, was different. She wasn't like the others. He took a liking to her and out of fear for her family, she spent time with him.”

Ms Wu did not like what Lucas was implying. “My son did not have to force himself on anyone.”

Lucas put his cup on the table. “He didn't. She willingly gave in to his desires, but it was not because she truly wanted to. Over time she did begin to grow fond of him. When she realized that she was pregnant, she was afraid, so she hid it. Then he was killed. She was beside herself. The Wus were gone, but now she was fearful for her life as others tried to take their place.”

Ms Wu was well aware of the chaos that occurred among the 5 families. “That's what happens when things are out of balance”

Lucas didn't like it, but he understood. “Her family thought that she had brought disgrace to them, but she wanted to keep the baby. They agreed, but when she died in childbirth, they saw it as a sign and to make things right, gave the baby to a lawyer, who put him up for adoption.”

Lin was now intrigued. “So what happened to him?”

Lucas was happy that it seemed like she was believing him. “The family that adopted him, moved to Iowa. He later came back to Port Charles to find out about his family, but with the Asian Quarter gone, that was difficult.”

Lin found Lucas's story plausible. “Do you have a picture of this man?”

Lucas looked around to make sure that he wasn't going to be shot, as he reached into his pocket for his phone. He found a picture of Brad and showed it to her. “This is Brad Cooper.”

Lin Wu frowned at Lucas, as she took the phone. “Brad Cooper?”

Lucas wasn't sure Lin Wu would get the joke, so he just gave her the facts. “The family that adopted him, the Coopers, gave him the name.”

Lin looked at the picture. She couldn’t deny the familiarity. “That explains….He does remind me of Kim. You said that he came looking for his family?”

Lucas took back his phone, when Ms Wu handed it to him. “Yes. About 5 or so years ago.”

Lin had heard of someone asking questions about her family. “I see. So how is he in trouble with the law?”

Lucas hoped that this meant that Ms Wu was willing to help. “The District Attorney, Paul Hornsby…”

Lin interrupted him. “Paul Hornsby? From the cartel?”

Lucas didn't know anything about a cartel. “I'm not sure. He knew that Brad was a Wu and Brad hadn't told anyone.”

Ms Wu gave Lucas an odd look. “How do you know all this then?”

Lucas didn't want to take the chance of ruining things. “He's my friend.”

Ms Wu placed her teacup on the table. “You're a good friend to come to me. Many would be afraid to approach a person of my stature. I find it commendable of you to be here.”

Lucas's heart began to beat faster and he took a second and swallowed, so that he didn't seem excited when he spoke. “Does that mean that you'll help him?”

Ms Wu motioned to her guard. “I'm not sure yet. I want to meet this man, that you claim is my grandson. I need to know that he's worthy.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad was ready for the day to be over. He brought the last report of the day up to the 10th floor and dropped it in the basket at the nurse's station.

Felix was on duty. “Are those the test results for Mrs Renner?”

Brad confirmed what Felix was saying. “They are.”

Felix picked up the file and noticed that Brad didn't seem like himself. “Good. Dr Quartermain was looking for them. Are you okay?”

Brad hadn't been sleeping well, since his talk with Alexis. “I'm okay. I've got a lot on my mind.”

Felix closed the file after making sure everything was in order. “Oh oh! Trouble in paradise? Did Lucas not like you keeping your mother being in town from him?”

Brad and Felix had parted ways over 2 years ago and Felix hadn't changed a bit. He was still into everyone else's business. He wondered what he ever saw in him. “Lucas and I have never been closer. You were right about me coming clean about Rosalie.”

Felix was glad that Brad took his advice. “I'm glad to hear that. Believe it or not I was pulling for you two.”

Brad frowned at Felix. Not believing what he was hearing. “You were? Then why did you keep bringing up my cheating on you? I thought you were jealous.”

Felix didn't want to admit it. “I was, but not because you weren't with me, but because you had what I always wanted. Now I've found that with Donny. He's cute, he's honest and he gives me all the…”

Brad put up his hand. “I’m happy for you, but I don't need all the details.”

Felix frowned at Brad and started to get back to work. “Get your mind out of the gutter. I was going to say gossip. Donny gives me all the GOSSIP that I need.”

Brad felt bad. “Sorry.”

Felix decided to let Brad off the hook. “That's okay. He gives me that too.”

Brad and Felix laughed until Dr Obrecht interrupted them, as she walked down the hall. She was accompanied by Police Commissioner Jordan Ashford. “Mr Cooperr.”

Brad whispered out the side of his mouth to Felix. “I knew that I should have got out of here while I could.”

Dr O stopped at the nurse's station. “We were looking for you in the lab.”

Brad figured the sooner that he got this over the sooner that he could go home. He looked at Jordan. “Did you need me to run some test for you?”

Jordan was very serious. “I'm afraid not Brad. I'm here to arrest you.”

Brad looked from Jordan to Dr O in disbelief. “What?”

Jordan took out her cuffs. “I'm sorry Brad, but the DA has issued a warrant for your arrest. You need to come with me and I have to read you your rights. 

Felix looked on in shock. “What the hell did you do now Brad?

Brad didn't reply, he just held out his arms and Jordan handcuffed him. "Anything you say can be used against you in the court of law…”

Liesl Obrecht showed no sympathy, and walked off feeling that her work was done. “I always knew that he was a bad seed. You better get back to work Mr Dubois, or I'll have her arrest you as well.”

Jordan finished reading Brad his rights. She lead him away. “Let's go Brad.”

Brad left with Jordan, but called back to Felix, before he got on the elevator. “Call Lucas and Alexis Davis.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas held Brad's hands as they rested on the bars. “I still can't believe this is happening.”

Brad tried to be strong, although he was anything but. “We knew this was coming.”

Lucas bit his lip and shook his head. “Maybe, but I never thought it would be so soon.”

Brad had to agree. “Yeah. I guess the DA got what he needed.”

Lucas wasn't sure what his boyfriend was talking about. “What could he have? Miami already sentenced you. I just don't see why he cares.”

Brad shook his head. “I don't know him, so it can't be personal.”

Lucas gave Brad his theory. “I think it has to do with the Wus.”

Brad frowned at his boyfriend. “How could that be it? I've got no connection to them. As far as I know, they aren't even in the business anymore. There weren't any around when I went looking.”

Lucas looked around and stepped closer to the bars, so the guard wouldn't hear him. “That's not true. They are still in charge of the triad.”

Brad glanced at the entrance and also spoke softly. “How do you know?”

Lucas didn't want Brad to know that he spoke to Ms Wu. “Julian told me.”

Brad thought that was interesting, but still didn't see the connection. “Even if that's true, I haven't had any contact with them.”

Lucas wanted Brad to at least consider the possibility. “Then why did he bring them up?”

Brad hadn't thought of that. “Maybe you're right, but I still don't see what he thinks he'll get out of this.”

Lucas rubbed Brad’s hand. “I don't know. Maybe Alexis can figure that out. Right now she's working on getting you out of here.”

Brad was relieved. “Good. This is worse than the holding cell at the courthouse. I'd rather not spend the night.”

Alexis walked in. “I'm afraid that you're going to have to.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas turned to Alexis. “I thought you said that he'd get out after his arraignment.”

Alexis walked over to the two men. “He will, but I couldn't get a judge before morning.”

Brad was beside himself, but kept up a strong front for Lucas. “I'm sure you did everything that you could Alexis. I'll be fine.”

Lucas wasn't so sure. “I'm sure Hornsby had something to do with it. We've got to find out why he's got it out for you.”

Alexis didn't want to admit that Lucas was right. “It does seem like he does, but he hasn't approached me with any terms. It seems like he just wants to make an example of Brad.”

Lucas didn't understand. “Example of what? If you commit a crime somewhere else, don't come to his city? If that's the case, the jail should be full.”

Alexis knew that what Lucas said made sense. “I know it's frustrating, but you've got to trust me. If Paul has an agenda, it will come out. I won't let Brad go to jail without a fight.”

Lucas didn't mean to imply that Alexis wasn't doing her job. “I'm sorry.”

Alexis rubbed Lucas's back. “I know. I need to talk to my client.”

Lucas reluctantly kissed Brad goodbye. “I'll see you in the morning.”

Brad smiled at Lucas. “Thank you for being by my side.”

Lucas left the two to talk. “Always.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad was laying on his cot staring at the ceiling, when the guard called his name. “Cooper, you've got a visitor.”

Brad sat up and walked over to the bars. Had Lucas come back? “Who is it?”

An older Asian woman walked into the room. “You don't know me, but I'm your grandmother, Lin Wu.”

Brad took a step back from the bars in shock. 


	17. The Arraignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad reacts to Ms Wu's unexpected appearance and the next day the arraignment starts, but things don't go as planned, when Paul surprises everyone.

Brad wasn't sure what to say. “How did you know I was here?”

Lin looked over Brad’s face and ignored his question. “You look like him, you know.”

Brad was confused. “Who?”

Lin smiled. “Your father, Kim.”

Brad turned away from the woman. “I wouldn't know.”

Since her grandson hadn't sought her out, she didn't expect a warm welcome. “I wish you did. Maybe if he knew that he had a child things would have been different.”

Brad knew the things that his father did. He turned back to the woman. “I doubt it. From what I've heard, he enjoyed causing others pain.”

Lin couldn't deny that. The power that his grandfather placed before him was like a drug, that he couldn't get enough of. “He did like the power. I can't deny that.”

Brad was glad that Ms Wu was finally admitting the truth. “I'm glad we agree on that. Why are you here?”

Lin stepped closer to the bars. “I want to help you.”

Brad frowned. “Help me? You don't even know me.”

Lin was earnest. “You're my family.”

Brad shook his head. He knew that help from people like Lin Wu, came with a price. “We may share DNA, but you're not my family. I'm a Cooper. Alice and John Cooper are my parents.”

Lin didn't agree. “I never had a chance to know you. I was in China when Kim was taken from me. If I had been here…”

Brad didn't let her finish. “Are you saying that you didn't know what your father was capable of?”

Lin let out a sigh. “I could not deny my father his grandson.”

Brad stepped closer to the bars. “You didn't help him, so why do you think you can help me?”

Lin stepped back from the bars and looked at Brad with disbelief. Then left the room. “You're wrong about me.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad stood at the defendant's table with Alexis. “After you left last night my grandmother Lin Wu came to see me.”

Alexis nervously looked around, then stepped closer to Brad and talked in a low tone. “What did she want?”

Brad could tell that Alexis wasn't happy. “She said that she wanted to help me.”

Alexis was curious. “Did she mean financially or did she have something else in mind?”

Brad shook his head. “I didn't give her a chance to tell me. I told her that I didn't want any part of her.”

Alexis was relieved. “That's good. The DA has claimed that you had a relationship with the Wus and we've argued that you haven't. Her getting involved now would make us completely uncredible. So it's good you did that.”

Brad was relieved. “I don't want to do anything to hurt my case.”

Alexis agreed. She had one concern. “The question is, does the DA know that she was there.”

Lucas hurried into the courtroom. He saw Brad and Alexis talking. “I'm sorry that I'm late. Did I miss something?”

Brad didn't want to worry Lucas unnecessarily, he turned and kissed Lucas on the cheek. “No. We're waiting for the judge to come in.”

Paul Hornsby came into the room and walked over to the prosecutor’s table. Alexis eyed him, hoping for some sign of whether he knew about Brad's visitor. She mumbled to herself. “You look too calm. You must have something up your sleeve.”

Brad heard Alexis mumble. “Is something wrong?”

Alexis didn't want to rattle Brad. “I just wish the judge would come in, so we can start.”

Just as Alexis had finished lying to her client, the bailiff took his position next to the bench. “Please stand for the honorable Judge Harris.”

Everyone stood until the judge motioned for them to sit. “So we have Mr Cooper on the docket again. I hope your act is more in order this time Mr Hornsby. I'm not in the mood for a surprise. We are here today to set bail?”

Paul Hornsby stood up. “I understand your position, but it turns out that we have just been made aware of some new evidence.”

Alexis stood up to object, but the judge put up his hand to stop her. “Take your seat Ms Davis. Mr Hornsby, this is an arraignment. Evidence isn't presented until the trial.”

Lucas leaned forward and whispered to Alexis. “What the heck is going on?”

Alexis kept her eye on Paul, as she replied over her shoulder. “I have no clue.”

Paul nodded to the judge. “I'm aware of that Your Honor. I'm just trying to save the taxpayers money.”

The judge was beside himself. “I'm going to give you a little leeway and I mean a little. If you're wasting my time, I won't waste time holding you in contempt, I'll just make sure that the Mayor puts you out on your ass.”

Paul bowed politely at the waist. “Yes Your Honor. I'd like to call my first witness to the stand.”

Alexis had more than enough. “Your Honor, I'm not prepared for trial. I’ve had no chance to interview or prepare rebuttals. I'm at a disadvantage.”

The judge was about to agree, when Paul interrupted him. “I only have one witness and I think that Ms Davis can call a recess to prepare a cross examination, if she feels the need to.”

The judge wanted to get this over with. “That sounds fair.”

Alexis took her seat. “Fine.”

Paul again called his witness. “I'd like to call to the stand Jack Stevens.”

Alexis, Brad and Lucas turned and watched as a fairly tall man, with blond hair walked in. They watched as he took the stand and Alexis leaned over to Brad. “Do you know who this is?”

Brad stared in disbelief. “Yeah. The man that that I killed.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jack stood and raised his hand, to be sworn in by the bailiff, then took his seat. Paul walked over to him. “Mr Stevens, where do you live?”

Jack watched the attorney, as he stood before him. “Baton Rouge, Louisiana.”

Paul placed his left hand on the stand. “And before that?”

Jack’s demeanor change slightly and he sat up more. “Miami, Florida.”

Paul kept his hand on the bench and turned and eyed Alexis and Brad at the defendant's table. “When you were in Miami, did you come in contact with the man seated at the defendant's table?”

Alexis had no clue where this was going. She whispered under her breath. “What are you up to Paul?”

Jack nodded. “Yes I did. He's why I left.”

Alexis quickly got to her feet. “I object!”


	18. The Truth Will Set You Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack Stevens tells the whole sorted story, as Brad and Lucas look on!

Alexis was afraid for Brad. She had made a deal with Miami, based upon what Brad had told her, but obviously with the man, on the stand, Paul was aware of additional information that he was about to reveal. She couldn't let this happen. “I object Your Honor. This is not a trial and if these events happened in Miami, they are not under the DA’s jurisdiction.”

The judge was inclined to believe the attorney, but Paul interjected. “I’m aware of my jurisdiction. I just want the facts out there, so the judge can rule accordingly. I would think that Ms Davis would be interested in hearing what Mr Stevens has to say, since I'm sure that she is surprised to see him.”

Lucas looked between the DA and Brad. Not sure what to make of what was going on.

Alexis swallowed. “Fine, but I want it on record, that I'm letting this continue with prejudice.”

The judge nodded at Alexis. “It's noted. Continue Mr Hornsby.”

Paul smiled slightly and continued to address the witness. “He's why you left? Can you continue to explain how you know Mr Cooper.”

Jack was obviously nervous. “I want to be sure that I won't be charged with anything.”

Paul nodded. “We've discussed that you will have immunity for anything that you say here.”

Jack nodded. “We met at a club. He was there and I thought he was hot. So I approached him.”

Brad looked over his shoulder at Lucas, who was listening intently to Jack’s testimony. He never wanted him to hear what happened this way.

Jack looked at Brad. “We had a few drinks, danced a little and decided to go someplace more private.”

Paul wanted to verify what Jack had said. “So you left the club together.”

Jack looked at Paul and nodded. “Yes.”

Paul encouraged Jack. “Continue.”

Jack turned his attention back out to the others. “We got outside and Brad wanted to go to my place, but I don't like to bring strangers to my house. You never can be sure with pick ups.”

Paul didn't want that kind of details. “So what happened?”

Jack realized that he was getting off track. “I'm sorry. I suggested that we go behind the bar. Brad wasn't into that at first, but he finally agreed. We made our way behind the bar and started kissing, but when I went for his pants he backed away. I was horny and tipsy and got pushy. I grabbed him and pushed him against the wall.”

Lucas looked at Brad briefly, then turned his attention back to Jack.

Paul could tell that his witness was getting uncomfortable. “It's okay. What happened next?”

Jack swallowed. “Brad began to push back. I didn't think he was that strong. He pushed me back against the wall and I hit my head. It made me angry, but it was a bit of a turn on too. I went back at him and we tousled until…”

Paul wanted Jack to finish. “Until what?”

Jack shook his head and looked at Paul. “I don't know. All of a sudden everything went blank.”

Alexis got worried. “Your Honor, if the witness isn't aware of what happened, why is he testifying?”

The judge had wondered the same thing. “I'm inclined to agree with Ms Davis. I told you that I didn't want you wasting my time. What is the point of this testimony?”

Paul approached the bench. “It's what happened after that is significant.”

The judge was getting frustrated. “I'm losing my patience. Get on with it.”

Paul went back to Jack. “What's the next thing that you remember?”

Jack continued. “I came to and I was laying on the ground. My clothes were covered in blood.”

Paul again needed clarification. “Was Brad there?”

Jack shook his head. “No. I was alone.”

After getting what he needed, Paul moved Jack to the next subject. “You said that you were covered in blood. Was there anything else?”

Jack nodded. “Yes. There was a knife in my stomach.”

Paul walked over to his table and picked up a bag with a knife in it. “Is this the knife?”

Jack looked at the knife in the bag. “I think so.”

Brad ran his hand over his face, as the DA took the knife out of the bag. “So you had this knife in your stomach. You seem like you recovered from the wound nicely. How badly were you hurt?”

Jack let out a deep breath. “I wasn't.”

The judge frowned at the witness and wanted clarification of what he heard. “You mean to tell me that you were covered in blood and had this knife stuck in your stomach, but you weren't hurt?”

Jack turned his attention to the judge. “No I wasn't. I sat up to check myself and the knife just fell out.”

Paul turned towards Alexis, Brad and Lucas, as he jabbed the knife into his hand. The three of them tensed, but then relaxed. “The reason being, is that the knife isn't real. It has a retractable blade.”

Alexis mouth dropped open, as she turned to Brad. Brad was just as shocked as she was and shook his head. “I didn't know.”

Paul turned back to the witness. “So what did you do?”

Jack adjusted himself in his seat. “I checked to make sure that I was okay and got up. Brad was nowhere around, so I thought that he was playing some sick joke.”

Paul nodded that he understood. “So did you go looking for him?”

Jack looked at Brad again. “I didn't know anything about him. Not even his last name. I asked around, but no one knew him. I decided that he was some sicko. It scared me. So much that I asked for a transfer and that's how I ended up in Baton Rouge.”

Paul walked back to his table. “I have no more questions.”

The judge wasn't sure what to make of all this. “Would you like a recess or would you like to question this witness Ms Davis?”

Alexis wasn't sure what good it would do to cross examine the witness, but she did want one thing. “I have no questions for this witness Your Honor, but since we are being unconventional here, I would like my client to take the stand.”

Brad looked up at Alexis in horror.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alexis didn't look at her client, but waited for the judge to rule on her request. He closed the folder on his desk and threw up his hands. “Sure why not.”

Alexis turned to Brad. “We need to fill in the blanks.”

Brad got up and turned and glanced at Lucas, who was in shock about what he had just heard and didn't notice. Brad couldn't tell what Lucas was thinking about all this. He let out a sigh and made his way to the stand.

The bailiff swore him in and he took his seat. Alexis smiled at him, to try and reassure him. “We don't want to take up too much of the court's time, but to the best of your knowledge, was Mr Stevens correct on the events that occurred prior to him waking up?”

Brad nodded. “Yes.”

Alexis nodded that he was doing fine. “What do you remember about him passing out?”

Brad shook his head. “I don't know anything about it. During all the scuffing, I passed out too. I didn't know that he had.”

Alexis stepped closer to Brad. “You passed out? What happened when you came to?”

Brad took a deep breath. “I saw Jack on the ground and the blood and knife. I looked at myself, but there was nothing. I had no clue how it happened. I figured that someone set me up, but I had no proof. People saw us go into the walkway. I was scared.”

Alexis nodded. “Did you check him?”

Brad nodded. “I thought that I did, but I'm not a doctor and I was really scared.”

Alexis could see that Brad was worried, but she had to finish. “So what did you do?”

Brad swallowed. “I left him. I didn't think anyone would believe me, if I said that I just found him like that. I went home and never went back. Then left town the next day.”

Alexis patted Brad’s hand. “Thank you. That's all.”

The judge turned to Paul. “Would you like to cross?”

Paul didn't bother to stand. “No Your Honor. We are well aware that Mr Cooper left the scene.”

Alexis stood up and addressed the District Attorney. “The scene of a crime, but by your witness's testimony, it wasn't a crime. Instead it was a sick joke that freaked both my client and Mr Stevens so badly that they left town.”

The judge nodded. “Me as well.”

Alexis turned her attention to the judge. “It's time to end this nightmare. I know that this court has no say about what happened in Miami, but it must see that my client has done nothing wrong and all charges should be dropped.”

The judge turned his attention to Paul. “Does the DA have any objections?”

Paul rose slightly from his seat. “No Your Honor.”

The judge looked at Alexis and Brad. “Will the defendant rise.”

Alexis watched Brad, as he stood up and the judge continued. “Brad Cooper, given the testimony that has been given, this court has no choice but to dismiss all charges. You are free to go.”

Brad turned to Alexis. “Is that it?”

Alexis smiled and nodded. “That's it. It's all over.”

The judge wasn't so sure. “Mr Cooper, my advice to you is that the next time you wake up next to a dead body, you take the time to face the music. Especially when you don't remember doing anything wrong."

Brad nodded nervously. "Yes Your Honor."

The judge then turned his attention to the DA. "As for you Mr Hornsby, the next time you're in my courtroom, this bet not happen again, because if I even here the word but come out of your mouth, you'll be in jail before you finish the sentence. I don't like my court turned into a circus.”

The bailiff announced for everyone to stand and the judge left the courtroom.

Lucas came up to the banister and gave Brad a hug. “I can't believe it's over.”

Brad wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. “Me either. I want to explain…”

Lucas let go of the hug and shook his head. “You don't have to explain anything that you don't want to. Let's go home.”

Brad agreed. “Let's.”

Lucas touched Alexis arm, as Brad made his way to him. “Thank you.”

Alexis smiled. “I couldn't let my stepson down.”

Alexis watched Lucas and Brad, as they made their way out of the courtroom, then made her way over to Paul. “The judge was right. You could have just dismissed the charges. Why did you have to be so dramatic.”

Paul started putting his stuff away. “You should be grateful.”

Alexis frowned at Paul. “Grateful?”

Paul turned to Alexis. “Your client has been hiding for years. He's finally got everything in the open and has nothing to hide. He doesn't have to worry about anyone coming after him. He has his life back.”

Alexis didn't like the idea of being grateful to Paul about anything. She didn't trust him. There was a reason why he went after Brad and she felt that there was a reason why he was letting him off now. Still she didn't want him to know that. “Thank you for that.”


	19. Freedom Comes With A Price

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas and Brad celebrate Brad's freedom.

Ms Wu held the phone to her ear. “So it's done?”

The person on the other end confirmed what she had said and she hung up the phone. She then picked up her cup of tea and thought back to the previous evening, when she payed a visit to the Port Charles District Attorney.  
~~~~~  
_Lin walked into the DA’s office and he closed the door behind her. “I was shocked to hear Lin Wu was here to see me. What brings you by?”_

_Lin turned and watched Paul, as he walked behind his desk. “Then you obviously are aware of who I am and who I represent, Mr District Attorney, so don't play games with me. You've wanted me here for a while, that's why you have arrested my grandson. What do you want?”_

_Paul motioned for Lin to sit. “We've never met, but yes I know you. You obviously know me as well. I want what I've always wanted and I need assurances that you will not stand in my way.”_

_Lin didn't sit. She stood her ground in front of Paul. She was not there for a pleasant chat. She was there for business. She now knew what he wanted and would agree to his terms, but wanted to make things clear. “I will go along with you now, but it will end the same as before. Except this time you're dealing with me. You will find that I don't like my family being used as pawns, even if they don't acknowledge me.”_  
~~~~~~  
Lin began to sip her tea. “One way or another Paul Hornsby, you will go down.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad came into the apartment. He was relieved that his ordeal was over, but the experience had taken its toll. “I'm all of a sudden really tired.”

Lucas closed the door and walked over to his boyfriend. “I can imagine. Staying in jail the night, then going through what happened in court? I was scared to death, when that guy walked in.”

Brad was too. “I was also relieved, because I knew that I hadn't killed him.”

Lucas stepped closer to Brad and put his arms around his waist. “So that's what you and Rosalie were hiding. Now I see why you couldn't tell me. You must have been scared out of your mind, thinking that you killed someone. Or even worse, that you didn't, but someone set you up to look like you did. Jack wasn't dead, but you had to be scared that they may come after you. After both of you.”

Brad was glad that Lucas knew. “I didn't know what to think. I'd never seen a dead man. I told her, because I needed to explain why I had to leave town. I didn't remember anything, but what if somehow I had done it? I told her that I would get back to her about the divorce, when I could. It was her idea to stay married, so that she couldn't testify against me. I hadn't just ruined my life, I ruined hers.”

Lucas had a new appreciation for Rosalie. “She really was...IS a good friend. We're going to have to figure out a way to thank her.”

Brad laughed. “I think giving her a divorce will go a long way.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Rosalie came upon her father on the docks. “Looks like the weather has finally warmed up. I'm looking forward to summer.”

Paul glanced over at his daughter. “You should be. You'll finally be free to do what you want.”

Rosalie wasn't so sure. “Are you sure the cartel won't be making more request?”

Paul felt that he was in a good place. I've got Ava and the Wu triad on my side. If Julian stays out of the mob, I'll soon have control of the five families. The cartel will be happy. They won't have to worry about obstacles to them finally having a stronghold on the east coast.”

Rosalie didn't share her father's optimism. “I still think Sonny is a force to be reckoned with. He's got a lot of power. I know that from dealing with Morgan and Michael.”

Paul wouldn't let his daughter ruin his mood. “Between Morgan's issues and dealing with Ava over his daughter Avery, he won't see me coming.”

Rosalie started to go. “I hope you're right. We've had our issues, but you're the only family I have, since you destroyed the one that we had with Jenny. I don't want to lose you.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad stretched. He had fallen asleep. He looked around. The apartment, but didn't see Lucas. He thought maybe he was in the bathroom. “LUCAS!”

Lucas called out from the bathroom, then came walking out a few minutes later. He had on boxer briefs. “You're up.”

Brad threw back the covers. “I am. Why don't you come join me.”

Lucas walked over to the bed and held out his hands. “Maybe later. First you have to come with me.”

Brad narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend, as he took his hands and let him pull him from the bed. “What's going on?”

Lucas got Brad to his feet and pushed him towards the bathroom, as he walked behind him. “Do you trust me?”

Brad looked over his shoulder. “With my life.”

Lucas smiled and continued to push. “Well, it's not life or death, but close your eyes.”

Brad closed his eyes, after what he put Lucas through the last year, it was the least that he could do. “Your wish is my command.”

Lucas laughed and positioned Brad in the door of the bathroom. “Remember that for later. Open your eyes.”

Brad opened his eyes. The room was filled with candles, as the tub was filling with bubbles and a bottle of wine, with glasses were on the floor. “Is this what you were doing?”

Lucas moved around Brad and turned off the water. “Last time you were in jail you wanted to take a shower. I thought a bath might be better. After all you've been through, some pampering seemed in order.”

Brad smiled. “You did this for me?”

Lucas placed his thumbs into the waistband of his briefs and slid them down. “I actually did it for us, if that's okay.”

Brad admired his boyfriend's body for a second before removing his own underwear. “I was hoping that you'd say that.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Kiki had started physical therapy and Julian stopped by the penthouse to see his sister. Ava brought him a martini, as he sat on the sofa. “I miss these times.”

Julian took the glass from his sister, as she sat down next to him. “You can come over anytime. Avery and Leo should spend time together. I want them to be close.”

Ava smiled. “I want that too. I’m feeling a little stingy with her lately. I've spent so much time with Kiki. My time with her is precious.”

Julian understood. “I'm the same with Leo. Sharing time with Olivia, it's always hard when he has to go.”

Ava felt a little bit of jealousy. “I hate Sonny, but I wish that we could have a relationship like yours and Olivia. Every time I leave her with him, I'm scared that he'll take her away and I'll never see her again.”

Julian put his glass on the table. “We always want to protect our children. Lucas is grown and I still worry about him. I was scared with the stuff that Brad was going through. I'm glad that's over.”

Ava was glad too. “That mess is over? That's good that they no longer have to deal with Hornsby anymore. I don't wish him on anyone. I wish that I could get from under his thumb, but he still has that damn recording.”

Julian got up. “Hornsby wasn't why I was worried. Lucas was determined to save Brad. When you couldn't help, he wanted me to set up a meeting with Lin Wu.”

Ava got up and walked over to her brother. “You didn't.”

Julian nodded. “I did. I'm just glad that she didn't get involved and Brad was freed because the guy he thought that he killed showed up alive.”

Ava was confused. “Alive?”

Julian had thought it was odd too. “Yeah. Someone played a sick trick on him.”

Ava stepped closer to her brother. “And after all this time, he just showed up?”

Julian shrugged. “Yeah.”

Ava knew that there had to be more to the story. “If Hornsby had Brad by the balls, the only way Brad would get out of it, is if he wanted him to. Believe you me. Brad is free because Hornsby wanted it that way.”

Julian was shocked by what his sister said. “You think so?”

Ava grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him closer to her. “Oh I'm sure. The only question is what he gets out of it.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad sat on the floor. His back was leaned up against the side of the bed, as he ran his fingers through Lucas's hair. Lucas was laid on the floor with his head in Brad’s lap. “Do you remember last year about this time, when we were on the floor after making love.”

Brad pretended to think. “Hmmm. There were so many.”

Lucas whacked Brad on the chest with the back of his hand. “You know which time I'm referring to.”

Brad laughed. “Before the Nurse's Ball.”

Brad's hand was resting on the floor. Lucas picked it up and started to play with his fingers. “Where you asked me to marry you.”

Brad bent down and kissed Lucas's forehead. “And you said yes.”

Lucas nodded. “I did. It seems so long ago.”

Brad tensed up. “I'm sorry.”

Lucas grabbed Brad's hand to keep him from taking it from him. “I'm not blaming you.”

Brad frowned down at his boyfriend. “I don't see why not. I asked you to marry me, when I was already married. Then I had to jump through all those hoops to even think about getting a divorce. I've made you wait a whole year, when we should have been married already.”

Lucas let go of Brad's hand and sat up. He turned so that he could look Brad in the face. “If you asked me a year ago, I would have said that I wanted to get married right away. Today, in spite of everything, I wouldn't have changed a thing. I learned so much about you. How strong you are and the things that you've had to endure to make you into the man that you are today. I feel so much closer to you and I love you so much more than I did that night and I didn't think that was possible.

Brad grabbed the sides of Lucas's face and pulled it to him. “How did I get to be so lucky?”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad and Lucas were having a hard time getting out of bed, but had no choice when someone knocked on the door. Lucas threw on sweats and volunteered to open it, while Brad grabbed some pants and a tee shirt. “Who is it?”

Lucas checked the peephole and frowned at his boyfriend, as he opened the door. “It's Alexis. What brings you by?”

Alexis walked in and eyed the two men and the unmade bed. “Sorry to disturb your celebrating, but I wanted to drop this by for you Brad.”

Brad took the envelope, that Alexis was handing him. “What is it? Something from the trial?”

Alexis smiled, as she watched Brad. “It's something that you asked me to work on a while ago.”

Brad looked at the papers, then frowned up at Alexis. “Divorce papers?”

Lucas walked over and looked at the papers, then looked up at Alexis. “How did you get these done so fast?”

Alexis tried to explain. “When you asked me to drop the divorce, I figured that eventually you were going to need them. So I went ahead and followed through on them. I've had them done for a while. After the hearing was over, I found Rosalie and got her signature. I just need yours.”

Brad found a pen and put the papers on the counter. Lucas watched as Brad signed the papers and then looked at them again, before giving them to Alexis. “So that's it?”

Alexis put the papers in her briefcase. “Almost. I'll file them at the courthouse. You should receive the final decree in a few weeks. Then you can set that wedding day.”

Lucas and Brad walked Alexis to the door. Lucas opened the door. “Thanks so much for bringing them by.”

Alexis smiled. “I have 3 daughters. Now I'll have three sons. Carol Brady will have nothing on me.”


	20. The Nurse's Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad finds himself in another sticky situation, but this time his fiancé is there to help him out.

It was the day of the Nurse's Ball. Brad was missing Britt, but she was still on the run with her father. He remembered how she had come back for the red carpet the previous year, but he was looking forward to walking it with Lucas. Lucas looked beautiful as usual. Brad offered his arm. “Are you ready to do this?”

Felix walked up, just as Lucas was about to take Brad's arm. “Hey guys. Do you mind if I join you on the red carpet? Donny is commentating and I hate to walk it alone.”

Lucas and Brad looked at each other and shrugged. They said in unison. “No problem.”

Felix smiled and caught both of them off guard, as he grabbed them both by the arm and lead them down the carpet. “Great! Let's go.”

Donny smiled, when he saw his boyfriend. “It's the handsome nurse Felix Dubois. One of the organizers of this year's ball. He's escorted by Dr Lucas Jones and Lab Manager Brad Cooper.”

The three of them made their way to the mark for pictures. Brad and Lucas stood for a few, but as Donny directed his questions to Felix, they caught each other's eye and decided to make their way inside. Lucas brushed off Brad's shoulder. “I never liked those things anyway.”

Brad frowned. “Why didn't you tell me. I only did it for you.”

Lucas saw Julian. “I wish I knew. Next year we can skip it. That must be our table. I see Julian.”

Julian got up when he saw Lucas and Brad approaching the table. “How are you guys? I haven't seen you, to congratulate you on finally getting the green light on setting a date. Have you got one yet?”

Lucas and Brad stared at each other. They hadn't even thought about it. Lucas smiled. “I guess we'd gotten so use to not being able to, we just haven't.”

Sam tried to help out her brother. “Don't let him pressure you. They'll do it when it feels right.”

Lucas was happy for the support and mouthed a thank you to his sister.

Julian was well aware of that, but couldn't help but poke fun at Brad. “I don't know. Brad needs to top the proposal at last year's ball. Maybe he's already got a wedding planned.”

Brad got nervous. “I don't even have the official papers yet.”

Julian patted Brad on the shoulder. “I was just kidding.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Everyone was enjoying the Nurse's Ball. Especially Brad. Since Lucas had just finished his Magic Milo performance. He was sitting next to Molly and leaned over towards her. “That act never gets old.”

Molly smiled. She felt the same way, since TJ was also part of the act. “This year was even better than last.”

Brad had heard that TJ and Molly had taken their relationship to the next level. “I did notice that TJ was gyrating quite a bit in front of you.”

Molly narrowed her eyes at Brad. “You keep your eyes on Lucas and off my boyfriend.”

Brad put up his hands in surrender. “Whoa. Just making an observation.”

Lucy Coe came on to announce the next act. “Our next act, are the Princess and Prince Charming of Port Charles. Put your hands together for Maxie Jones and Nathan West.”

Lucy left the stage and the intro to, Meghan Trainor’s, I'm Gonna Love You began and the curtain started up. Maxie was standing facing Nathan, with her arms folded over her chest. “What do you mean that Claudette was your wife?”

Nathan pleaded with Maxie. “You said that you didn't need to know about my past.”

Maxie dropped her arms to her sides. “That's when I thought it was a girlfriend or a family pet. A wife is different.”

Brad whispered out of the side of his mouth to Molly. “This seems awfully familiar.”

Molly stared at the couple, as Maxie ran off the stage and Nathan ran after her. “At least yours is over. Their problems look like they're just starting.”

Lucy came up on stage and tried to make light of the situation. “Well, I hope he doesn't lose her.”

People laughed.

Lucy looked nervously around. “Well this is starting to become a tradition. One that's much better than me being in my underwear. Do you guys think that we can convince our charming Lab Manager, Brad Cooper, to fill in again?”

Brad looked nervously around, as Lucy encouraged the crowd to clap. Brad shook his head. “Not again.”

Molly tugged at Brad's arm. “Go on. You're my second favorite act.”

Brad frowned at Molly. “Really?”

Molly waved at Lucy. “Of course. Here he comes.”

Brad went up on stage and whispered to Lucy. “Do you have another song? This one's a duet.”

Lucy pushed the microphone at Brad, not thinking that it mattered. “Last year was about getting married and you did fine, even though you weren't planning on marrying anyone.”

Brad tried to still get out of it. “Then look what happened.”

Lucy remembered Brad’s proposal. “Oh…..Just improvise!”

Brad watched as Lucy left the stage. “Improvise.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucy started clapping off stage to get the crowd going and encourage Brad. “Woohoo! Let's give it up for Brad Cooper.”

The music started up again and Brad nervously held onto the microphone. It wasn't like he was prepared or expected to be good, so he just did the best that he could. He was just glad that he knew the words. He was obviously nervous and Molly clapped along to try and help. “ _I found myself dreaming. In Silver and Gold. Like a scene from a movie…”_

Lucas was in the back. He was finishing up getting dressed, before going back out to join Brad. He heard the noise. “What's going on out there?”

One of the nurse's came back to get ready for their act. “Maxie and Nathan had a fight. So Lucy is getting Brad to do the song.”

Lucas stopped fixing his tie and rushed to get a peek on stage. Felix joined him. They stood off on the side and watched from the back. Felix got nervous. “That's a duet. Maybe I should get the dancers to help out.”

Lucas looked around, then grabbed a mic. “There's not enough time.”

Brad looked at Molly, who flashed a smile of encouragement. “ _So I'm gonna love you, like I'm gonna lose you. So I'm gonna love you, like I'm gonna lo-ose youu.”_

Brad was just about to start the next verse when Lucas stepped on stage. “ _In the blink of an eye. Just a whisper of smoke…_ ”

The audience started clapping and Brad turned and watched Lucas, as he walked up and joined him on staged. He smiled at him and Molly started whistling her approval

After Lucas finished the verse, he took Brad’s hand and they sang the chorus. “ _So I'm gonna love you. Like I'm gonna lose you. I'm gonna hold you…..”_

When they were done, Brad pulled Lucas into a kiss and the audience stood up and cheered. Lucy came on stage to thank them, but they didn't notice. Lucy shrugged and turned to the audience and clapped for the couple. "Let's hear it for Brad Cooper and Dr Lucas Jones."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad and Lucas were at the bar. Brad grabbed his drink and took a sip. “Thanks for saving me.”

Lucas smiled at the bartender, as he put his drink on the bar. “I don't know about that. You were doing fine. It's not like my voice is any better than yours.”

Brad didn't think that was the point, although he didn't agree. “The important thing is that I didn't have to do it alone.”

Lucas took a sip of his wine. “We're getting married. We shouldn't have to do anything alone.”

Brad put his drink down. “We ARE getting married. My divorce papers should show up any day now. What do you say we set a date.”

Lucas frowned at Brad. He wasn't sure he heard him right. He had come up with millions of excuses before to not set a date. “Are you sure that you don't want to wait?”

Brad stepped closer to Lucas. “I proposed to you a year ago. I think I've made you wait long enough. I almost lost you once after the whole Rosalie thing came out and as the song said, we’re not promised tomorrow. So let's set a date.”

Lucas smiled. “Fine by me. When?”

Brad got serious. “I'd do it tomorrow if I could.”

Lucas had wanted a big wedding, but after waiting so long he felt the same way, but there were a few problems with the idea. “I'd actually be okay with that. There's a few problems though. One, you don't have your divorce yet and two, my mother will kill us.”

Brad put down his drink. “Mine too. She's done nothing but talk about it.”

Lucas was glad that Brad's mother was excited too. “So we need to give them enough time to plan. A few months should be enough.”

Brad agreed. “So that would be July then. What day?”

Lucas thought. “July. How about the 4th. It would be kind of cool, with the fireworks and everything. Plus, there'd be no way that you'd forget our anniversary.”

Brad kind of liked that idea. He stepped closer to Lucas and kissed him gently. “There's no way that would happen and I think the 4th of July sounds perfect.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Paul watched Brad and Lucas and Ava walked up to him. “A penny for your thoughts.”

Paul stood up straighter. “I wasn't thinking about anything.”

Ava noticed Brad and Lucas across the room. “Ahhh. The fish that got away.”

Paul didn't look at Ava. “You of all people should know, that no one gets away from me.”

Ava thought that she'd see if she could get any information for Julian. “So you cut a deal with Brad?”

Paul crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn't have to. One was offered. You really shouldn't worry about Brad. You need to worry about keeping me happy. I can still send you to jail and after the arms deal going south, there will be a lot of people there that would love to see you.”

Ava hated that Paul still had her confession tape. “What do you want me to do?”

Paul started to walk off. “Keep Sonny focused on you. Now that he's walking, I need him distracted, to keep me off his radar.”


	21. Best Person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word spreads and everyone is excited about the wedding. While Brad and Lucas select their attendants.

Word got around pretty quickly once Brad and Lucas set their date. Alice came to visit. She wanted to help out Bobbie on the guest list and meet some more of Lucas's family. John stayed home. He wasn't one for preparations. Just tell him where to be and he'd show up. 

Bobbie invited the girls to her house, well Carly's old house. She brought out some hor'dourves and placed them on the table. “I'm really glad that you could come for a visit before the wedding.”

Alice didn't like being waited on. “It's too hard to get to know people at a wedding. There's too much going on. Is there anything that I can do to help?”

Bobbie opened a bottle of red to go along with the white that she had sitting in the chiller. “You're our guest. The Spencers have got this. You're right. Weddings are no place to get acquainted, so I'm glad they finally have a date, but there's so much to do.”

The doorbell rang and Bobbie went to get the door. Alice got up to meet whomever it was. “I guess two men doesn't make it any easier.”

Bobbie came back with Maxie and Lulu. “Alice. These are Lucas's cousins. Lulu, is my brother’s daughter. Maxie is Lucas's father's brother’s daughter.”

Alice was determined to get all the connections right. “Adoptive father or biological father?”

Maxie still was reeling a bit from Nathan's revelation at the ball. She went to get a glass of wine. “Oh no. I'm not a Jerome. I'm a Jones through and through.”

Bobbie tried to clarify. “Most of the people will be from his adoptive family.”

Alice nodded that she understood. That would make things a little easier. Carly came in with a cake box in her hands. “Where do you want the cake mom?”

Alice knew who this was. “You must be Carly.”

Carly turned to see who was talking. When she saw, who must be Brad's mom, she smiled. “I am. I'd shake your hand, but no one is telling me where to put the cake.”

Valerie was coming down the stairs. “I can take it in the kitchen.”

Carly was glad to hand it over. “Great. It's wise for you to meet us all. It'll let you know what your son is getting into. All joking aside, Brad and I didn't get off on the best foot, but he makes my brother happy, so he's a star in my book.”

Alice sat down and sipped her drink. She understood what Lucas meant, when he said that she was a handful. “I'm glad to hear this. 

Sam arrived last with Molly and Kristina in tow. “I'm sorry that we're late, but we brought a cheese tray.”

Alice indicated that Sam could put it on the table. “I think the appetizers go over here.”

Sam brought the tray over. “Great. So you must be Alice. I'm Sam and these are my sisters, Kristina and Molly. We’re the Davis girls.”

Alice was confused. “I was expecting Jeromes. Are there more people coming?”

Kristina explained. “We have different fathers, but the same mother. Alexis Davis. So we go as the Davis girls. It's easier that way. Bobbie, mom’s got some big case, so she's not going to make it.”

Bobbie smiled and nodded that she understood, just as Molly interjected. “Sam is the only Jerome. She's Lucas's biological sister. We're stepsisters.”

Alice understood now. “So Lucas's dad did marry your mother. Which of you is his niece.”

Kristina was impressed. “You're actually following all this?”

Alice sipped her wine and mumbled under her breath. “Thank god for flowcharts.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
While the women of Lucas's family got to know Brad's mom, Lucas and Brad were having dinner with Rosalie at Kelly's, as a thank you for being there for Brad. Brad had another reason for dinner as well. “I'm just glad it's all over. You must be to, you got a lot more than you bargained for.”

Rosalie played with the food on her plate. Feeling guilty that Brad was being so nice, given her part in it all. “I went into it with my eyes wide open.”

Lucas wiped his mouth. “Still you've got to be thrilled it's over. Now you can get back to your life. I'm surprised you don't already have a boyfriend.”

Rosalie shrugged. “Knowing I was married, I never let myself get that close to anyone.”

Brad pushed his plate way. “I was the same way, but Lucas was the one. I never expected him, but when he came into my life I couldn't let him get away.”

Lucas reached over and took Brad’s hand. “I certainly tried to, but you never gave up on me.”

Brad smiled at Lucas across the table. “And you never gave up on me.”

Rosalie fought back tears and tried to lighten things up. “Do you want me to leave you two alone?”

Brad realized they were being insensitive. “Sorry. Well, we've set a date.”

Rosalie was shocked. “You did? We haven't gotten the papers back yet.” 

Lucas grabbed the pickle from Brad's discarded plate. “It's not until July. Things should be finalized by then.”

Brad nodded and reached over for Rosalie's hand. “They better be. Anyway, you were there for me through so many big moments in my life. It might seem strange, so if you don't want to, I'll understand, but I'd love if you'd stand up with me at my wedding to Lucas.”

Rosalie couldn't believe what she was hearing. “But we haven't been in touch for years. I would think there would be someone in your life now.”

Brad shook his head. “Like you said, all the secrets kind of kept me from being close with anyone really. There was Britt, but I have no clue where she is or how to get in touch with her. I thought about Felix, but that just seemed weird. I guess no weirder than an ex wife, but we were friends first. So will you do it? I promise not to ask you to do anything else again.”

Rosalie couldn't stop herself from tearing up this time. She laughed, in spite of them. “I'd love to.”

Lucas let out a sigh of relief. “That's great. I just have to talk to Griffin now. He was suppose to have a follow up with Tracy.”

Brad got out his wallet. “So you're going to go to the hospital? I'm suppose to meet my mom at the Metro Court.”

Lucas balled up his napkin. Then spotted Dillon coming into Kelly's. “Maybe I can catch up with you there. There's Dillon. So Griffin must be done. Hey Dillon!”

Dillon walked over to Lucas. “Hey Lucas. I heard that you and Brad set a date.”

Lucas smiled over at Brad and nodded. “We did. I was hoping to talk to Griffin. Is he still at the hospital? We were just finishing up here.”

Dillon looked down at the other people at the table and frowned at Rosalie. “Susan?”

Rosalie didn't respond, but Brad did. “This is my friend Rosalie Martinez. She's single though.”

Dillon was embarrassed. “Rosalie? I'm sorry. I thought...never mind.”

Lucas smiled at his friend. “No need to apologize. It was a mistake.”

Dillon noticed Valerie come in. “Of course. There's Valerie. We're suppose to have dinner. I'll see you guys around. Nice meeting you Rosalie.”

Rosalie put her napkin on the table and got up. “I know that I'm not seeing anyone, but I don't need to be fixed up.”

Lucas and Brad watched Rosalie walk out of the restaurant, then looked at each other. As Brad put the money for the bill on the table. “What did I say?”

Rosalie got outside and let out a big sigh. “Whew! That was close.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dillon waved at Lucas and Brad as they left. He turned to Valerie. “Have you ever heard the saying that everyone has a twin?”

Valerie sucked on the straw of her milkshake. “Yeah. They're called doppelgangers, right?”

Dillon nodded. “Yeah. I think that's right.”

Valerie leaned her elbows on the table and played with her straw. “Did you see yours?”

Dillon shook his head. “No... my sister Susan's.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad picked up his mother at Bobbie’s and they arrived at the Metro Court. “I’m glad that you had a good time.”

Alice stopped in the lobby. “I did. They made me feel like one of them. They let me know that they had problems when you first got to town, but all loved you now and are happy for you and Lucas.”

Brad was ashamed of the things he did to many of Lucas's family and looked at the ground. “I thought of myself back then. Lucas made me understand the importance of seeing beyond myself.”

Alice put her hand on her son's arm. “That's partially my and your father's fault. We didn't give you the security you needed to trust others. You keeping such a big part of you from someone you were suppose to love, warped your perspective of others.”

Brad frowned at his mother. “Have you been taking psychology courses online again?”

Alice laughed. “No! But I might have read a few articles.”

They both laughed, as Lin Wu came off the elevator. She had been in the restaurant. She recognized Brad right away. She couldn't completely see the person that he was with, but she seemed familiar. 

Brad put his arm around his mother's waist to lead her to the elevator. He was still smiling, but that faded when he saw Lin. “We should get upstairs.”

Alice noticed the change in her son, before she also noticed Ms Wu. “What's wrong?”

Ms Wu approached the two. “Hello Brad. I'm glad to see you're free.”

Brad stayed close to his mother. “I am.”

Lin turned her attention Alice. “Is this your mother?”

Brad tightened his grip on his mom, while Alice glanced up at her son and worked herself free. She took a step closer to Lin and extended her hand. “I am. Alice Cooper.”

Lin smiled and shook Alice’s hand. “It's nice to meet you. I'm Lin Wu. Seems fate meant for us to meet. Thank you for being there for my grandson when I couldn't.”

Brad watched, as Lin stepped around them and left the hotel. He then turned to his mother. “What were you doing? And what was that comment about fate?”

Alice walked into the elevator, when the door opened. “We bumped into each other at the mall. I didn't know who she was at first. She was gracious then, like she was just gracious now. In spite of what she represents. If it wasn't for that woman, I wouldn't have you. For that I'm eternally grateful to her.”

Brad joined his mother on the elevator. “You never cease to amaze me.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas found Griffin on the 10th floor. “Hey Griffin.”

Griffin was finishing his notes on Tracy. He glanced up at his friend. “Lucas! Hey. I thought you were off today.”

Lucas lightly tapped on the desk. “I am, but I needed to talk to you about something.”

Lucas had caught Griffin’s attention. He put his pen into the pocket of his lab coat and smiled, as he turned to face his friend. “Does this have to do with the wedding that I've been hearing the nurses talk about?”

Lucas frowned. “We've made it to the water cooler gossip?”

Griffin chuckled. “Well, not exactly, but Felix seems to talk about nothing else.”

Lucas smiled and waved off his friend's comment. “Oh Felix. He's harmless.”

Griffin decided to poke fun at his friend. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Really? Word is that you stole Brad away from him.”

Lucas became flustered. “Well..it…”

Griffin laughed. “I'm just kidding. What did you want to talk to me about?”

Lucas frowned at his friend. “Maybe I should rethink this.”

Griffin grabbed Lucas's arm. “In sorry. Tell me.”

Lucas stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I was wondering if you'd stand up with me at my wedding?”

Griffin was flattered. “Sure. I'd love to be an attendant.”

Lucas rocked his head back and forth, as he uncomfortably informed Griffin that he misunderstood. “Actually I was talking about a more prominent role.”

Griffin frowned. “Bestman?”

Lucas bit his bottom lip and nodded. “Yeah. If you don't want to…”

Griffin got over his shock. “No, no, no. It's not that. I'm just surprised. I would think you'd ask a family member or someone that you've talked to in the last 5 years.”

Lucas regretted that he and Griffin had fallen out of touch. “My family is complicated. I could ask Julian, but out of respect of my mom and Tony, it wouldn't feel right. I couldn't pick one sister over the other. The same goes for cousins. As far as friends are concerned. Each friend has gone through a different phase of my life with me. You were there when I was just becoming the man that I am now. You might not know it, but you helped me through a hard time. Dealing with Guy and the loss of my father.”

Griffin nodded. He and Lucas spent many a night sharing philosophical beliefs and dreams of their future, as well as disappointments of the past. “You helped me a lot too. You don't have to convince me. I just wanted to make sure that you were sure.”

Lucas was relieved. He smiled. “Does that mean that you’ll do it?”

Griffin chuckled. “Well, yeah.”

The two men hugged.


	22. Better Judgement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas has advice for his nephew, while Brad wrestles with his biological family. Rosalie is excited about the wedding, but Anna might have stumbled onto her secret. 
> 
> Note: This chapter is less about the boys and more about other aspects of the story, in order to move the plot along.

Lucas had been really busy with work and the wedding. He had seen Carly at the hospital a few times and kept up on Morgan since he had gotten out of the hospital. He wasn't so concerned about his other nephew. Michael was the sensible one. 

They had made plans to open a clinic on the waterfront, but with everything that happened with Luke and ELQ, that got pushed to the side. Lucas decided that he needed to touch base with his nephew. So they met for breakfast. “I'm sorry that I haven't reached out to you before now. What have you been doing?”

Michael put cream in his coffee. “It's no problem. Now that things have settled with Morgan and Tracy, I can concentrate on ELQ again.”

Lucas buttered his toast. “Nic must be fighting you tooth and nail.”

Michael put down his cup. “He's not making it easy. I thought that we'd be tied up for years, but we've made some headway.”

Lucas began to eat his eggs. “I'm sure Ned being back has helped.”

Michael nodded. “He has. If you want to bring the Quartermaines together, all you need is an outside threat.”

Lucas put down his fork. “That's great to hear. I'm glad that you've found some focus after what happened with Sabrina.”

Michael sat back and let out a sigh. “I still think about her. I just can't believe she would leave Port Charles, for a life on the run.”

Lucas shrugged. “Carlos is the father of her baby.”

Michael went back to eating. “You and I both know that you don't have to be raised by your biological father to be loved.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad was in the lab. He opened the file on his desk and looked through the contents. “Five years ago I tried to find out about my family and now that my life is finally on track, here it comes to mess me up.”

He looked at the picture of his father. “She said that I look like you. That if you knew about me that you'd been different. Why can't I believe that.”

He then looked at the picture of his great-grandfather. “She did nothing to try and endear you to me. Which makes me think that you were as ruthless as I've heard.”

He ran his hand over his mother's name. “I wish that I had a picture of you. So I could see if I had you in me. I've changed so much this last year, but what if it doesn't last. I'd like to think that you have something to do with it, but I can't help but fear that I’m destined to be like my father or even worse, my great-grandfather.”

Brad briefly looked at a few other pictures, then settled on the one of Lin Wu. “My mother feels that you deserve respect, because without you I wouldn’t exist. I can respect you, but I can't let you in my life. I'm not strong like Lucas. He can separate himself from Julian. I know how I can be. Look at what I did to get this job. Being that close to power would be impossible for me to resist.”

The door to the lab opened and Brad quickly closed the file. Liesl came into the lab. “Mr Cooperr, your assistance is needed in the ER.”

Brad walked over to put the file away. “I’ll be right there.”

Liesl left the room. “See that you don't dawdle.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
There had been rumblings among the five families, of a new threat. It was decided that a meeting was necessary. 

Ava didn't want to go, but Paul insisted. He wanted her to be his eyes and ears. She walked into the room, the other participants were there. When they saw her, they made their way to their seats. 

Sonny was already seated at the far end. “Nice of you to join us A-va. After your gun operation went bust, shouldn't you be in jail or are you a spy for the DA?”

Ava took her seat and tried not to show her fear that Sonny actually knew something. No one controls me.”

Ms Wu interrupted the banter. “From what I've heard, Ms Jerome almost lost much more than a shipment. We all can agree on the importance of family. That's what we all fight for. Let's get this meeting to order.”

Everyone agreed with Ms Wu. They began their meeting, no one was aware of any other forces, but would do what they could to find out what they could and meet again.

Everyone was leaving, but Ava stopped Lin to thank her for coming to her defense. “I guess that we will be family in a way soon.”

Lin wasn't sure what Ava was referring to. “I'm sorry?”

Ava smiled nervously. “Your grandson Brad is marrying my nephew.”

Lin frowned. “He is?”

Ava realized that Lin didn’t know. “I'm sorry. You didn't know that he’s gay?”

Lin walked away from Ava. “I know very little about Brad. He has no desire to know me.”

Ava stepped closer to Lin. “Yet you protect him anyway.”

Lin turned around in shock. “How did you know?”

Ava was glad that she guessed right. “No one gets away from Paul Hornsby. I should know.”

Lin looked around. “He's controlling you as well?”

Ava hoped this would work in her favor. “He's blackmailing me and from what he's said, there is one other person. Maybe if we work together, we can find out who and we can all get from under his thumb.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Valerie dropped the file off with Jordan. “Here's the file you wanted.”

Jordan took the file from Valerie. “You didn't have to bring it in Officer Spencer. The new PAA could have done it.”

Valerie liked the sound of being an officer. “I hadn't seen you in a while. So I thought I'd drop in and say hi.”

Jordan looked through the file. “That's nice. How are things?”

Valerie stood in front of Jordan's desk. “Pretty good. At least I'm not seeing doppelgangers like Dillon.”

Jordan looked up from her file and frowned at Valerie. “Doppelgangers? What's that about?”

Valerie shook her head. “Well I guess nothing. He thought that he saw his sister, but he didn't.”

Jordan laughed. “Well that's strange, but we've all been there at one time or another.”

Anna came in. “Jordan..”

Valerie turned and saw Anna. “Hello Anna.”

Anna smiled. “Valerie? Hi.”

Valerie could tell that she was in the way. “Well I guess I'll get going. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Jordan closed the file and watched Valerie leave. “Thanks again. What makes you barge into my office Anna?”

Anna began to pace. “Not what, who.”

Jordan knew the answer. “DA Paul Hornsby.”

Anna stopped in front of Jordan's desk. “It's like he's one step ahead of us on everything. Robert can't find Carlos and Mac said that Susan dropped off the face of the earth like 12 years ago. Which, by the way, is longer ago than the last time that Dillon said that he talked to her.”

Jordan laughed. “Maybe that's why Dillon is thinking that he's seeing her.”

Anna frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Jordan got up to put the file away. “It's nothing. Just something that Valerie said.”

Anna was getting anxious as she turned and watched Jordan walk across the floor. “What did Valerie say?”

Jordan turned around to face Anna. “Anna calm down. Dillon thought that he saw Susan, but it wasn't her.”

Anna wanted more information. “Why did he think it was her?”

Jordan walked back to her desk. “I don't know. You'd have to ask Valerie.”

Anna headed for the door. “Why do that, when I can ask Dillon.”

Jordan sat down at her desk dumbfounded.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Things were starting to come to a head in Port Charles. Paul was slowly getting everything in place. Ava, Lin and his secret weapon were keeping the 5 families occupied and Anna was running in circles. 

Rosalie wanted to see him, so they met on the dock. “Why did you want to see me?”

Rosalie didn't want to upset her father, but she had to tell him what happened at the diner. “I saw Dillon.”

Paul turned to face his daughter. “You what? I told you that he was in town and that you needed to avoid him.”

Rosalie tried to explain. “I had. Most of the time I'm at ELQ. I had met up with Brad and Lucas. I figured it was fine. He's always at Crimson, but he was at the hospital for an appointment with Tracy.”

Paul didn't want to hear excuses. “What did he say?”

Rosalie bit her lip. “He called me Susan.”

Paul threw up his hands and turned away from his daughter in disgust. “Great.”

Rosalie tried to reassure her father. “Brad told him that I was Rosalie Martinez and he realized that he made a mistake. It's fine.”

Paul was happy for that, but not convinced. “Alright for now, but he'll figure it out.”

Rosalie shook her head. “He won't. Since the accident, there are days that I don't recognize myself. Susan is gone.”

Paul wanted to be sure. “You've got to leave town. You being figured out will ruin everything.”

Rosalie didn't agree. “It was a chance meeting. We've been in the same town for over a year and we've only run into each other once. Besides, I can't leave.”

Paul frowned. “Why not?”

Rosalie let out a breath. “Brad asked me to be his maid of honor or best woman at his wedding.”

Paul had heard enough. “Are you serious? You can't do that. You're finally free of the man, so you need to stay clear of him before he figures out what we did.”

Rosalie stood up to her father. “I can and I will. You and the cartel made me do those things. Before you knew who he was and made me marry him, he was my friend. One of the only friends I've ever had.”

Paul let out a heavy sigh in frustration. “When is this wedding?”

Rosalie was glad that he seemed to be giving in. “The 4th of July.”

Paul couldn't believe what he was hearing. “You can't be serious. That's almost 2 months away. There's too much risk. I'm coming to the end here. I can't take that chance.”

Rosalie walked up and grabbed her father's arm. “Since my accident, you have been there for me. I never asked anything from you. I fulfilled my obligation. I'm asking you to give me this. I promise that I'll avoid Dillon. Then I'll leave Port Charles. There's nothing here for me really anyway.”

It was against Paul's better judgement, but he gave in. “Okay, but not a second longer. I don't even want you at the reception.”

Rosalie held her hands together and pleaded. “I have to make a toast.”

Paul shook his head and walked off. “Fine.”

Rosalie smiled. “YES!”


	23. Cover Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maxie makes good on a promise and Bobbie has a job for the boys.

It was 6 weeks before the wedding and Maxie wanted to make good on Crimson covering Lucas and Brad’s wedding.

They met Dillon for a photoshoot. “Okay, we're almost done. You guys are doing great.”

Lucas stood behind Brad, his arms around his waist. “I didn't expect this to be so elaborate.”

Dillon finished his shots. “That should do it. You guys can relax. It's a 4 page spread. We’ll let you see the proofs of the best shots. We won't be using a tenth of the shots that I took. Digital has made this so much easier and cheaper.”

Lucas took off his jacket. “I could never be a model. This was exhausting.”

Brad undid his tie. “I don't know. They get paid pretty well by the hour don't they.”

Dillon started putting his equipment away. “Yeah, but you have to stay in shape and if you get 5 years out of your career, you're lucky.”

Brad rethought his statement. “The staying in shape part would be hard. I hate the gym.”

Lucas grabbed Brad by the waist and smiled at him. “I like your shape.”

Maxie came into the room. “How did the pictures come out?”

Dillon handed her his camera. “Great. You can take a look if you'd like.”

Maxie took the camera from Dillon. “You guys are so cute. This is going to make the issue. This one might make a good cover.”

Brad walked over to Maxie. “I didn't know that we were going to be on the cover?”

Maxie smiled at Brad. “This is a fashion magazine, but women like hot guys. No one ever bought one because they liked what the model on the front was wearing. They buy it for the articles, but something catches their eye first. Gay or not, you two have an it factor. I said that I wanted to help you out with the wedding, but we will be getting something out of this as well.”

Anna poked her head into the room. “Hi everyone. I hope I'm not interrupting.”

Maxi walked over to Anna. “We're just finishing up. What can I do for you?”

Anna meekly walked into the room. “Actually I'm looking for Dillon.”

Lucas picked up his jacket. “I need to get back to the hospital.”

Brad joined him. “Me too and I can't wait to get out of this monkey suit.”

Lucas held the door for his fiancé.  "I'd be happy to help you."

Maxie chuckled at her cousin, as she made her way out as well. “You guys can talk in here. I need to get back to Nina and let her know how the shoot went. When you're done with Anna, if you can send me a few of those pics it would be great.”

Dillon nodded. “Will do. What can I do for you Anna?”

Anna made sure that Maxie was gone. “Tell me about your sister’s doppelganger.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was the sixth time that Sabrina had to pack up everything and move because Carlos said that it was too dangerous. It was wearing on her.

Carlos had contacted Paul for more money. “I told you that I’m not coming back to Port Charles. No matter what type of immunity you give me.”

Sabrina had just gotten the baby to sleep. She walked in the room and heard Carlos on the phone. “We can go home?”

Carlos turned and saw Sabrina. “I've got to go. Just send me the money.”

Sabrina walked over to Carlos. “I'm tired of running. I thought we were going to Puerto Rico, but you say that we can't. If we can go back to Port Charles, I want to. Moving every few weeks is no life for the baby. It's not what I thought it would be.”

Carlos got up and took Sabrina by the arms. “It won't be forever.”

Sabrina pulled away from Carlos. “It's already been months and it's been too long. This isn't me. If you don't want to go back that's fine, but I want to...no, I need to go home,”

Carlos had done everything he could to try and make Sabrina happy, but she was right. She wasn't meant for this life and it wasn't what he wanted for her and their child. “Fine. I'll let Paul Hornsby know that I'll take the deal.”

Sabrina hugged Carlos. “Thank you.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas had just finished rounds. He was putting his updates into the computer, when Julian came walking up. “Hey Lucas.”

Lucas spun around in his chair, then stood up and smiled at his father, as he gave him a quick hug. “Hey! What brings you by? You feeling okay?”

Julian patted his son's shoulder. “I'm fine. Nina mentioned that you and Brad did your Crimson photoshoot. I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to stop by. How did it go?”

Lucas grabbed his notes and stepped away from the computer. “Good. I had no clue how much went into it.”

Julian was still upset, that his plan to ruin Crimson didn't work, but after new numbers came in, he realized just how profitable the magazine had become. Paying the taxes was the way to go. “Nina, Maxie and Dillon are doing a great job. I'm glad that you and Brad wanted to be a part of it.”

Lucas sighed, as he placed his folder on the nurse's station. “It really made all this real. Brad and I are getting married in a little over a month.”

Julian leaned on the desk. “You're not getting cold feet, are you?”

Lucas shook his head. “Nah. Did you, when you married Alexis?”

Julian remembered back to his wedding. “Marrying Alexis was what I've wanted my whole life, but never thought that I'd ever have. So, no. I didn't have cold feet and in spite of what happened, I wouldn't change a thing.”

Lucas smiled. “I feel the same about Brad.”

Julian stood up and rubbed his son's shoulder. “When you first found out about me, it didn't seem like we had anything in common, I guess deep down we both had the same desires. I hope your wedding will be as memorable. Minus the hostage situation of course.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad was on lunch, so he ran to Kelly’s. He ran into Bobbie who was coming out. He smiled at his future mother-in-law. “Hi Bobbie.”

Bobbie had liked Brad from the start, in spite of him hurting Lulu. He reminded her of herself when she was younger. “Brad, hi. I was on my way to the hospital to find you and Lucas.”

Brad frowned. “You were? What for?”

Bobbie lifted the shopping bag that she was carrying and forced it into Brad's arms. “These.”

Brad tried to peer into the bag. “What’s this?”

Bobbie frowned at Brad, figuring that he should know. “Wedding invitations.”

Brad looked into the bag. “They are? There's so many.”

Bobbie knew exactly how many. “127 to be exact.”

Brad didn't believe what he was hearing. “I thought we were only planning for 50?”

Bobbie nodded. “That's about how many will be in attendance, but there's relatives and friends that aren't in town, that you still want to invite, even if they can't attend. The Webers and Brewers are old friends, but I doubt if they’ll come and your mom had quite a few.”

Brad understood now. “Cool! You get a present, but don't have to feed them.”

Bobbie crossed her arms over her chest. “That's not the point.”

Brad raised an eyebrow. “Maybe not, but it's a good perk. What are Lucas and I suppose to do?”

Bobbie was happy that Brad at least seemed enthusiastic. “I just picked them up from the printer. The envelopes are all addressed. You just need to stuff the envelopes. I did one, so that you would know how to. Just make sure the inner envelope matches the outer one.”

Brad wasn't sure about this. “Ooookay. I think we can handle this.”

Bobbie headed off. “Good. You don't have a lot of time. They should be in the mail at least 5 weeks beforehand.”

Brad again looked into the bag. “No pressure.”


	24. Something's Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna questions Brad, as Ava takes a risk.

Lucas put the last envelope in the box. “That does it. All we need to do now is drop them off at the post office.”

Brad frowned down at the floor. “What's this?”

Lucas’s eyes rolled back into his head as he fell back on to the sofa. “Damn. We missed two reception cards. How did that happen?”

Brad threw the cards on the table. “We've already sealed all the envelops. What are we going to do?”

Lucas got up and picked the box of invitations up off the table and walked them to the counter. “Pray that those are extra or that whomever doesn't have one, won't need one because they already know where it is. It's not like we can go through these.”

Brad got up and joined his boyfriend. “True. I'm glad it's only 2.”

Lucas put his arms around Brad's waist. “So am I. Weren't you the one that said mistakes means luck?”

Brad nodded, as he draped his arms around Lucas's neck. “I did, but that was referring to the ceremony.”

Lucas pulled Brad in for a kiss. “Oh. Well, I'm not going to worry about it. I think we deserve a break after all our hard work.”

Lucas was starting to walk Brad back to the bed, when someone knocked on the door. Brad closed his eyes and moaned in frustration. “Uhhh. Who could that be?”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas went to open the door. “Anna?”

Anna was hoping Brad was alone. “Hi Lucas. I hope that I'm not disturbing you.”

Brad was about to answer, when Lucas beat him to it and ushered her in. “No. Come on in. What can we do for you?”

Anna walked in and smiled nervously. “Actually I was hoping to talk to Brad.”

Brad became nervous. “I've already been cleared of all charges. Alexis said…”

Anna stepped closer to Brad and held her hand up to reassure him. “It's not about you.”

Lucas walked up next to Anna and frowned. “Who is it about?”

Anna glanced at Lucas, then turned her attention back to Brad. “Your friend Rosalie.”

Lucas knew that Rosalie had problems in the past. He hoped that she wasn't in more. He figured Brad could handle it. “Well, I need to get these invitations to the post office. So unless you need me to stay.”

Brad shook his head, as Lucas picked up the box and kissed him on the cheek before leaving. “No problem. I'll be fine. What did you need to know?”

Brad motioned for Anna to have a seat. She made her way over to the sofa. “You two went to school together?”

Brad went to get some water. “Yes. We met freshman year. Would you like some water?”

Anna nodded. “Yes. Thank you. About how long ago was that?”

Brad thought as he poured the water into glasses. “About 12 years ago? Is Rosalie in trouble?”

Anna took the water from Brad, when he brought it back to her. “No. Her time in Miami corresponds to a case I'm working on.”

Brad didn't understand. “Then why don't you talk to her?”

Anna tried to make light of things. “I don't really know her and I figured I'd talk to you first. Is that okay?”

Brad shrugged and sipped his water. “I guess.”

Anna figured that she should speed up her prying. “Did Rosalie talk about her family?”

Brad frowned, as he thought back. “No she didn't. She probably didn't have time. I spent most of my time talking about mine.”

Anna thought that she might have a better way to get what she needed. “Yours. The Coopers?”

Brad put his glass on the table. “I had a hard time coming out to them. She was there for me through all that.”

Anna finished her water and put her glass on the table. “That's nice. So you never talked about your birth parents.”

Brad rubbed his hands together. “It was hard not to. After she met my parents, it was pretty obvious that I was adopted. So I told her about being from Port Charles.”

Anna found that interesting. “Really?”

Brad nodded. “Yeah. She encouraged me to check into my birth parents. She thought maybe that's why I had so much trouble talking to my adoptive ones. Finding out where I came from, might help me understand where I was.”

Anna frowned. “Did that help?”

Brad shook his head. He hated what he did to his parents even more now, knowing that they accepted him. “No. It made it worse. My parents found out and went ballistic. You knew my father and the things that he did, so you can imagine that finding out about it, made me even more ashamed.”

Anna reached over and touched Brad's leg. “Yes. I know first hand what the Wus were capable of, so I can understand that. It must have been hard to find out that way.”

It was hard for Brad at first, but he felt better about it now. “Thanks. It was, but I'm glad that I know. So she was there for me, more than I was there for her.”

Anna nodded. “Yeah, I'd say. She married you.”

Brad picked up their glasses and took them to the kitchen. It wasn't something that he was proud of. “Yeah, right after graduation. My parents thought we were a couple and she saw how terrified I was. It wasn't a bad arrangement and we hung in there a while, but then I felt bad. I couldn't get married in Florida back then, but her life was on hold. I never stopped her from seeing other guys, but she could never have a serious relationship. So I decided we should get a divorce.”

Anna turned towards Brad and frowned. “But you didn't.”

Brad poured a little more water and drank it down. “No. That's when all hell broke loose. You know about my murder, that wasn't a murder.”

Anna nodded. “Yes. I heard.”

Brad leaned on the counter. “I was scared to death. It was Rosalie's idea that we stay married after I got home and told her what had happened. She didn't want to be forced to testify against me. She's a great friend.”

Anna thought about what Brad said. She figured that she wasn't going to get anything else, so she got up to leave. “Yeah sounds like it. It's weird that you've been through so much, but yet you know so little about her.”

Brad never really thought about it before. It was another example of how he only thought of himself. He was always wrapped up in his own problems. "Yeah. We both had things that we were hiding from."

Anna frowned at Brad. "Rosalie was hiding from something?"

Brad hadn't realized it, but subconsciously he did remember something. He thought for a second before answering. “I guess she wasn't really hiding, but now that I think about it there might have been a reason that she didn't want to think about her past.”

Anna hoped that this might help. “Why would you think that?”

Brad walked back over to Anna. “She said this in passing, so I'd forgotten about it. She mentioned that she had an accident. It must have been pretty bad. I was trying to get her to skip class and she said that she missed a good portion of her senior year. That's why she was 19. She had to take an extra year to finish high school. She never brought it up again and I didn't ask her about it. I figured she would if she wanted to talk about it, but she never did."

Anna got ready to go. “Thanks. I guess that this didn't help much.”

Brad walked Anna to the door “Sorry. If you tell me what you need to know, I can ask her for you.”

Anna smiled. “That's okay. Maybe she wasn't the person I was looking for. One more thing though. Did Rosalie mention where she came from?”

Brad smiled. “That I know. DC.”

Anna nodded. “Thanks.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Ava and Lin had tried to figure out who Hornsby’s other contact in the 5 families was. They had no clue, but they knew who it wasn't. Sonny Corinthos.

Ava knew that whatever Paul had planned, was happening soon. She didn't want to, but Lin convinced her that their strongest position would be to bring Sonny into the fold. The other 2 families were much weaker and Paul would never suspect him helping Ava.

Ava had dropped off Avery. Carly was at the Metro Court and Ava felt that it was as good a time as any. “Sonny, I know we have had our differences, but I'm going to go out on a limb, because I'm in desperate need of your help.”

Sonny held Avery on his lap. “You're doing this, because you know that I won't get upset while I’m holding my daughter.”

Sonny was completely right. “I’m hoping that you will hear me out. I'm doing this for Avery and Kiki.”

Sonny lacked patience when it came to Ava. “After that gun deal, didn't you learn anything?”

Ava began to pace. “I learned plenty, but that doesn't change the situation that I'm in now. You're right. I wasn't an informant on the gun deal. I was blackmailed by Paul Hornsby.”

Sonny got up and put Avery in her playpen. “Why am I not surprised. What does he have over you?”

Ava was even more nervous, but maybe opening up to Sonny, would make him see that she was sincere. “I'm not telling you this to use against me. I'm doing it so that you can see that I'm trying to be open with you. He's got my confession.”

Sonny got angry. “He does. I should have known that it wasn't lost. You're not telling me anything that makes me want to help you though. Sounds like I can finally get you out of my hair.”

Ava knew that she had to get the rest of the story out. “If I go down, I won't be alone. Paul has someone else by the throat. Someone that made a sacrifice that affects someone that you care about.”

Sonny frowned at Ava. “What are you talking about?”

Ava stepped closer to Sonny. “Carly.”

Sonny walked away from Ava. “You don't know what you're talking about. I protect my family.”

Ava continued to try and get Sonny to hear her out. “Not Carly directly, but someone close to her. Lucas almost lost Brad, because he was in trouble with the law. Lin Wu pledged her loyalty to Paul, in order to save him. That's how that man mysteriously showed up.”

Sonny turned back to Ava. “So you're telling me the DA has 2 of the five families under his control.”

Ava fidgeted. “Three, but we don't know which one. What we do know is that it isn't you. He wanted me to keep you distracted with Avery, so that he could put his plan in motion.”

Sonny’s interest was peaked. “What’s his plan?”

Ava could see that she finally had Sonny's attention. “He's leading the cartel in to take over the Eastern territory.”

Sonny raised his voice. “Over my dead body!”

Avery began to cry and Ava walked over to her to calm her. She knew it was time to let Sonny know the full extent to Paul’s deeds. “He tried that.”

Sonny paced the room. “What do you mean?”

Ava picked up Avery and began to rock her. “Carlos didn't shoot you Sonny. Paul did.”


	25. Just Desserts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad and Lucas continue their wedding preparations, while Anna finally gets what she's been searching for.

It was a month before Brad and Lucas's wedding and Carly wanted them to come to the Metro Court to go over the menu. Kiki was helping out. “Did you want me to bring anything else out?”

Carly smiled at her son's girlfriend. “Just the cake samples. Oscar said that he would have them ready.”

Lucas adjusted his waistband. “When you said come hungry, you meant it.”

Carly laughed at her brother. “You didn't have to eat everything.”

Lucas frowned at his sister. “Then you shouldn't have made everything look so good.”

Carly watched, as Kiki came out with the tray. “You eat with your eyes first. If you guys had done this earlier, we could have done this over a few days. We're getting down to the wire. I've got to make sure that everything is ordered for your big day.”

Brad sucked his bottom lip, as he eyed the tray when Kiki put it on the table. “I'm good. From the weddings that I've been to, the bride and groom rarely get a chance to eat and you only get a bite of the cake.”

Carly tried to make Brad feel better. “You’re suppose to keep the top for your first anniversary.”

Lucas stuck his fork in a chocolate cake. “Do people really still do that?”

Brad tasted a white chocolate one. “Yeah. It's suppose to symbolize your marriage going stale as the first year comes to an end.”

Carly frowned at Brad. “Well that's a cynical way to think about it.”

Brad stuck his fork back into the white chocolate cake and offered it to Lucas. “I'm talking about most. We would never be that way. I like this one.”

Lucas laughed, before opening his mouth for the cake Brad offered. “Nice save.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Anna was at the PCPD going through files. She didn't get exactly what she wanted when she talked to Brad, but she got enough leads, to help her try to figure out if Rosalie Martinez could be Susan Hornsby. 

She had gotten information from the Miami DA, who was an old friend of hers. It was info on Brad's incident. “It happen in June 09. That's almost 7 years ago. Dillon said that he hadn't talked to his sister in 6. That's close.”

She looked through the Dubuque newspaper for a wedding announcement of Brad and Rosalie's wedding. He said that they got married after graduation. “Here it is. May 07. That's too long ago. He wouldn't have mistaken almost 10 years for 6. Let's see if I can find out anything about an accident. If it's as bad as Brad said, there might be something.”

She looked through the DC police reports for 01 and 02. “Let's see if I find anything for Rosalie Martinez.”

Anna watched her phone, as it searched. “Nothing.”

She thought for a second, then punched another name into the database. “Susan Hornsby.”

She waited again. Then the information came up. “Bingo!”

The door to the interrogation room opened. Paul frowned at Anna. “What are you doing in here?”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas and Brad were at Sam's penthouse watching Danny. Lucas came down the stairs and Brad was putting away the crayons. “Is he asleep?”

Lucas walked over and sat on the sofa. “Uh huh. I had to read 2 stories.”

Brad walked over and joined his fiancé on the sofa. “Sam said 1. I think you spoil him.”

Lucas put his arm around Brad's shoulder. “Me? You were the one that let him watch tv and color. He was probably over stimulated.”

Brad narrowed his eyes at Lucas. “Oh, so you're the authority on children now.”

Lucas acted smug. “I've got more experience than you.”

Brad took offense to Lucas's statement. “I might not have grown up around a lot of kids like you, but I'll have you know that my senior year I volunteered at the boys club. So I've been around my share of children.”

Lucas was shocked. “You never wanted to babysit Josslyn.”

Brad settled into Lucas's side. “She different. She scares me. I like Danny.”

Lucas rubbed Brad's shoulder. “I think he likes you too. He likes having guys around, probably because he's use to it being just him and Sam.”

Brad understood that. “I wonder if we have a kid, if they would miss having a mom?”

Lucas sat up and looked at Brad. “You want to have kids!?”

Brad shrugged. “I don't know. It might not be easy, but I do think about it. Don't you?”

Lucas settled back on the sofa and again pulled Brad into him. “You never cease to amaze me Brad Cooper.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Anna paced the interrogation room. “When will Carlos be back?”

Paul was getting the reaction that he wanted, as Anna became fixated on Carlos. “He's going to contact me again. My guess is next week.”

Anna was happy. Duke would finally have peace. She turned to face Paul. “Are you sure that he won't warn Julian?”

Paul walked over to Anna. “That wouldn't be in his benefit. If Julian gets away, he takes the wrap.”

Anna still didn't trust Paul. “I want to be there.”

Paul frowned. “When he's brought in?”

Anna began to pace again. “I still don't trust you. How do I know that you won't hang me out to dry. You get immunity and Carlos takes me down.”

Paul got upset. “When will you learn that I'm not your enemy.”

Anna stood inches from Paul’s face. “You might have explained a lot of things, but I've still got plenty of questions. You used me Paul and kept me in the dark for months. I don't like to be used.”

Paul stepped back from Anna. “Whether you believe me or not. We're on the same side.”

Anna headed for the door. “Then I'll expect your call when Carlos arrives back in Port Charles.”


	26. Keeping Up Appearances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pressure builds as the wedding nears and Carlos returns to Port Charles.

Maxie had dropped a copy of Crimson off for Brad and Lucas to see before it hit the stands. They were sitting in the lab and Brad stared at the cover. “We're famous!”

Lucas took the magazine from his fiancé. “I don't know about that, but it turned out really good. Dillon really does great work.”

Felix was walking down the hall and saw the two men. He came into the lab. “What are you two looking at?”

Lucas showed Felix the magazine. “It's the latest Crimson.”

Felix looked at the magazine. “They're covering your wedding? That's cool. I really envy you two. You didn't give up.”

Lucas was surprised to hear Felix talk like this. “I guess we've come a long way from our threesome.”

Felix laughed and put the magazine on the counter. “That seems ages ago. Just like my crush on Milo.”

Lucas frowned at Felix. “Wait. I didn't know that?”

Brad put the magazine back in the envelope. “Oh Felix had a reputation for chasing straight guys.”

Lucas couldn't believe that he was just hearing this. “Well, Donny has fixed that.”

Felix smiled. He and Donny had been together for over a year. “Yeah he has. We should get together before you two tie the knot.”

Brad couldn't help but poke a little fun at Felix. “You thinking hanging out with the engaged couple might give Donny some ideas?”

That might have been his intention, but he wasn't going to admit to it. Felix got up to leave. “Nah. Just thought you guys might want to hang out. I'll talk to you later.”

Lucas and Brad watched Felix leave, then chuckled and said in unison. “Yeah right.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Carlos was sitting in the interrogation room and Anna came in. “I never thought that I would see you again. Yet here you are.”

Carlos looked up at Anna. “You killed me.”

Anna was having a hard time keeping it together, but she refused to let Carlos see her break down. “Obviously I didn't. You just wanted me to think that I did. You knew telling me that you would walk was going to push me over the edge.”

Carlos did push Anna. He could tell that she was trying to hold it together. “If we were on the dock right now, you'd do it again.”

Carlos was right. Part of her still wanted Carlos to pay. Julian might have made the order, but Carlos pulled the trigger. “I wish that you would rot in jail, along with Julian. He made the order, but you actually took Duke from me. You get to walk, but I hope that you never find peace. 

Carlos didn't think much of Anna's threat. “But I will have peace. I'll sign this agreement and make my confession and walk out of here. Then Sabrina and I can raise our baby.”

Anna shook her head. “I always liked Sabrina. How she could fall for someone like you is beyond me.”

Carlos didn't like Anna talking bad about the woman that he loved. “Sabrina and I are in love. We are family. We will never be out of each other's lives. Michael was a safe place. I'm her heart and she is mine.”

Anna didn’t believe that. “The only reason she was with you was because you fathered her baby. If she could make her baby Michael’s she would in a minute.”

Carlos got angry and rose up from his seat. “Sabrina loves me. She ran away with me.”

Anna was pleased that she got to Carlos. “She felt lost after Michael left her, but it wouldn't have lasted. Eventually, she would have tired of a life on the run. Or had she already done so. Is that the real reason that you came back?”

Carlos begin to breath hard. He sat down and slammed his hand on the table. 

Anna smiled and left the room. “I thought so.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The cartel had decided to make themselves known. The five families were meeting again to update each other on their findings since their last meeting. 

Ava walked into the room. She eyed Sonny and Lin and walked over to them. “So this is it. Do you have a plan?”

Sonny talked to the two women. “Don't worry about me. You do what you need to do and I'll do what I have to do.”

The last member came in and they took their seats. It was announced that there would be a guest and Paul walked into the room. Sonny immediately reacted. “What's going on here? Why is the District Attorney here?”

Paul smiled slyly at Sonny. “I'm here representing a group that will benefit us all.”

Ava played along. “The courts and our individual businesses have never been on the same side.”

Paul looked at Ava. “You of all people should know that isn't true. Many of you should be in jail, but yet here you are.”

After what Ava had told him, it was hard for Sonny to maintain his composure. “I'm not going to work with the likes of you.”

Paul would prefer to have Sonny on his side. “It's not just me. I'm just a representative of something bigger. I'm sure that you've heard of the cartel.”

The family representatives began to talk amongst themselves. Then one of them spoke. “We've done fine on our own. We don't need another party coming in.”

Paul didn't agree. “In the last year, each of you have been hit in one way or another. Shipments stolen, undercover agents infiltrating your ranks and shootings. You Mr Corinthos most recently. Good to see you up and walking again.”

Sonny glared at Paul. “I work with no one.”

Lin played her role. “Maybe we should put it to a vote.”

They did just that and as expected the vote was 3 to 2 in favor. Making obvious who the other person in Paul's pocket was. Paul smiled. “You won't regret your decision.”

Sonny stood up. “I don't care what the vote is. I'm not going to work with anyone.”

Paul watched, as Sonny left the room. He turned back to the remaining individuals and spoke to the only other person that voted against the alliance. “Do you feel the same as Mr Corinthos?”

The man looked around at his peers. He knew that even with Sonny on his side, he could not stand against them. “I'm with you.”

Paul smiled at the people seated at the table. “Good. I will let the cartel know. Mr Corinthos will regret standing against us.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad walked down the hall and shoved his phone into his pocket. Lucas saw him and ran up behind him, grabbing him from behind. “Hey there?

Brad jumped, but calmed when he saw who it was. “Hey.”

Lucas frowned as he stepped next to his fiancé. “What's wrong?”

Brad let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “Nothing. It's just all closing in on me a bit. I just got off the phone with my mom.”

Lucas completely understood. “I know. Mine text me at least 20 times a day. I would think that everything would be set by now.”

Brad nodded. “You'd think. Her and my dad will be in next week. It's just going to get worse. Can we still elope?”

Lucas looked around, as he slipped his arm around Brad's waist and led him down the hall. “No we can't. Come with me.”

Brad frowned at his boyfriend. “Where are we going?”

Lucas let Brad into the storage room and closed the door behind them, then locked it. “I thought that we could use a little bit of alone time. I remember a time when you pretended to be my patient.”

Brad smiled, as Lucas stepped closer and cupped his face in his hands. “What about your oath?”

Lucas took off his stethoscope, before moving in to kiss Brad. “I don't see any patients. Do you?”

Brad reached for the pants of Lucas's scrubs. “Nope.”

Outside the storage room Liz tried the door. “Who locked the door?”

Felix walked by. “What's up?

Liz frowned at her friend. “Exam room 2 needs more cotton balls, but someone locked the storage room.”

Felix listened at the door for a second, then grabbed Liz by the shoulders and led her away. “Maybe you can get some from exam room 1.”

Liz frowned at her friend. “Why? What's going on in there?"

Felix smiled. “I think a doctor and a certain lab manager are practicing for their honeymoon.”

Liz’s concern turned into shock, but she was amused none the less. “Oh really?”


	27. Everything Falls Into Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As everything comes together for Lucas and Brad's wedding, so do things for Paul Hornsby.

Sonny was still fuming from his meeting. He knew the cartel would be there soon and he had to get everything in place. He hoped element of surprise would be in their favor, but more reinforcements would certainly help. 

Max came to the door and announced Anna Devane. Sonny turned to her. “I don't have time for you right now.”

Anna could see Sonny was in a mood, but she knew her news would make him feel better. “We've got the son of a bitch.”

Sonny frowned at Anna. “Who?”

Anna didn't believe that Sonny didn't know. “Jerome of course. Carlos is signing the affidavit now.”

Sonny's mind was still on Hornsby. “That's nice.”

Anna frowned and stepped closer, thinking that he didn't realize what all this meant. “I would think that you'd be more thrilled. Julian didn't only have Carlos kill Duke, he had him shoot you.”

Anna's statement immediately got Sonny’s attention. “Is he swearing to that?”

Anna nodded. “Among other things.”

Sonny started to throw his glass, but thought better of it. “That lying bastard.”

Anna didn't understand. “Lying, about what?”

Sonny walked over to Anna. “Carlos didn't shoot me. Paul Hornsby did. The man has been playing this town since he got here and if you team up with me, we can bring his ass down.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Julian was again in a cell. This time was worse than the others. He was being blamed for his past. One that he foolishly thought that he could walk away from. 

Carlos walked into the jail. “Hello Julian.”

Julian looked at his former henchman. “Carlos. I should have known. I thought you were dead.”

Carlos smiled. “That's what I wanted everyone to believe, but the DA gave me an offer that I couldn't refuse.”

Julian reached for Carlos, but he stepped back. “You bastard. You turned on me?”

Carlos nodded smugly. “Sorry boss.”

Julian shook his head and paced his cell. “Don't be sorry. It's my fault. I didn't want to take you back after you sold me out to Luke, but I did. I thought you were loyal to the family.”

Carlos felt that he was free of the Jeromes, so he could finally tell the truth. “I was until you let me go to jail for a crime I didn't commit. If it wasn't for that tape I'd still be rotting there. Now you're where you belong. I just wish that Ava was there too.”

Julian turned to face Carlos. “You ungrateful…”

Carlos laughed. “Ungrateful? I was your hired killer. Duke, Sonny…”

Julian frowned. “Sonny? I didn't have you shoot Sonny.”

Carlos pretended to think. “You didn't? There were so many. I get them confused.”

Julian grabbed at Carlos again. “I’ll get you.”

Carlos left the jail. “They've got so much on you, the only way that you'll be leaving jail is in a pine box.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Michael ran into Lucas outside of Kelly’s, literally. “Michael? Are you okay?”

Michael didn't notice his uncle. “I'm sorry Lucas. I wasn't watching where I was going.”

Lucas frowned at his nephew. “Obviously. What's going on?”

Michael stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Sabrina's back.”

Lucas smiled at first, but realized that if there was something to be happy about Michael wouldn't be so down. “Was she with Carlos?”

Michael let out a heavy sigh. “Not when I saw her, but she said that they are together. He's cutting some deal and they are going to stay in Port Charles. It was one thing for her to be on the run with him, but seeing them everyday is going to kill me.”

Lucas felt bad for Michael. “Maybe she's staying with him out of obligation. He is the father of her child. Did you tell her how you feel?”

Michael rubbed the back of his head. “I tried, but she didn't want to hear it.”

Lucas stepped closer to Michael. “It's probably too hard for her to hear. She's made a commitment and she's determined to stand by it. I don't want you to put your life on hold, but there's always hope. She and Carlos broke up before.”

Michael nodded, but it was obvious that he didn't believe Lucas as he walked off. “Thanks for that, but I think I lost Sabrina for good.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hornsby was feeling good about himself. Everything was going as planned. He stood looking out over the water, when a man came up behind him. “Couldn't you have picked someplace more private for us to meet?”

Paul didn't turn around “No one knows you and I like it out here.”

The man still wasn't pleased. “The boss is looking forward to things wrapping up. He wouldn't want things to go south now.”

Paul put his hands in his pockets. “The gun bust was necessary. It made me look like one of the good guys and it eliminated the competition. We don't want someone else trying to move into our territory.”

The guy put his hands behind his back. “I won't lie to you. We were worried.”

Paul let out a heavy sigh, as he looked down at the water slapping up against the pier. “I've been planning this since the last time I was run out of Port Charles. Everything has been calculated to come to this point.”

The man could not deny Paul's claim. “Including using your daughter.”

Paul didn't like using Susan. “She was an integral piece. Her happening into Wu’s grandson was key, but she will be free of this soon.”

The man kicked a rock into the water. “What about your son?”

Paul showed his first sign of emotion. “My son will never be part of this life. He’s with Tracy. Maybe one day we’ll be close, but after hurting her it won't be soon.”

The man nodded. “Fine. Your concern for your son could be seen as a weakness.”

Paul quickly got his emotions back in check. “I won't let anything get in my way. I'm too close.”

The guy wasn't so sure. “There's still the business of Sonny Corinthos.”

Paul glanced over at the man. “Not for long. Julian is in jail and the five families are united against him. He’s strong, but he's nothing alone. I didn't kill him the last time that I shot him, but this time he won't be coming back.”

The man walked off. “Until tonight.”

Paul walked off in the opposite direction.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad looked at the rings on the counter. “It seems like a lot for a couple of gold bands.”

Lucas pointed to another pair for the salesman to pull out. “It's not like something you're going to wear once. It's a ring that you're going to wear everyday for the rest of your life.”

Brad repeated what Lucas said. “The rest of my life.”

Lucas was trying on one of the rings, but stopped and looked at Brad. “Does that scare you?”

Brad smiled and took Lucas's hand to admire the ring. “Not at all. It excites me. The idea that I get to wake up and go to sleep with you everyday for the rest of my life, is all that I could ever wish for. I don't like that one.”

Lucas took off the ring and tried another. “Except when I'm on a later shift. How about this one?”

Brad glanced at the ring, then continued to look around the display case. “Maybe something in platinum. That's only for another year and then you'll be a full fledged doctor.”

Lucas pointed at one and the man pulled it out. “Then maybe we can start talking about those children we discussed.”

Brad picked up one of the rings and handed it to Lucas, who tried it on. “Don't you think we should get a house first? I like that one.”

Lucas admired the ring on his finger. “I do too. I think we've made a decision.”

The salesman put the ring to the side and measured their fingers. “It should be ready in about 7 business days.”

Brad smiled, as he put his arm around Lucas's shoulder. “That's perfect. That'll give us a few extra days”

Lucas signed the receipt. “One more thing down. I just need to pick out your wedding present.”

Brad put his arm through Lucas's, as they headed out of the store. “I was going to do that tonight, since you're on duty.”


	28. All I Ever Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad and Lucas both look forward to their wedding, while telling their friends about how they met. While on the docks, Paul's plan hits a snag.

Brad had called Rosalie to help him pick out a present for Lucas. They sat outside the new pub on the waterfront. “You really think he'll like it?”

Rosalie sipped her beer. “I don't know Lucas as well as you, but I think he'll love it.”

Brad was still worried. “It's not too corny?”

Rosalie laughed. “No. It's romantic. Now stop worrying. I'm sure he'll love it because it's from your heart. You really love him don't you?”

Brad took a swig of his beer. “I never thought it would happen to me. You know how I was with guys. I've spent my life being looked over and used. So I just never let them get close and I just chased after them all. I guess I never thought that I was good enough, but Lucas wanted me from the start. Did I tell you that he chased me?”

Rosalie frowned. “He did?”

Brad nodded. “Yep. I thought he just wanted one thing though. He was having a lot of problems and we would talk about them. I was attracted to him from the start, but I was with Felix. I had been after him for almost a year and he finally was giving me a chance.”

Rosalie put down her drink. “I know him. That's the nurse at the hospital. I use to see him a lot, when I would take Nina.”

Brad frowned at his friend. “Yet I never ran into you. Go figure. Anyway, Lucas came between us by accident, when Felix found out that we slept together and dumped me. I thought of Lucas, but I didn't bother contacting him, because I thought it was just a booty call, like the others.”

Rosalie was caught off guard by the phrase and choked a bit on her drink.

Brad saw her. “Sorry. That's what I thought. But when I ran into him, he wanted to see where things went. I hesitated, but finally gave in. He’s sweet and we can talk about anything.”

Rosalie talked over her glass. “Not to mention hot.”

Brad laughed. “Yeah and there's that. I haven't forgot that you asked him out.”

Rosalie wasn't ashamed. “Yeah I did, but he told me that he was gay and engaged.”

Brad didn't blame his friend. He reached over and took her hand. “I'm just joking. I'm just glad you're here. I don't have a lot of friends. I screwed up a lot when I first moved here.”

Rosalie could relate. “Tell me about it.”

Brad realized that Rosalie could. “Yeah. I guess you understand, that's why I'm glad that you're here. We've always understood each other. I don't hit it off with many people.There was Britt, but she moved away.”

Rosalie pulled her hand from Brad. Brad could tell something was wrong. “What is it?”

Rosalie could barely look at Brad. “I was going to tell you later, but with everything going on with ELQ, I've been looking for a new job. I just got one.”

Brad tried to be positive. “That's great.”

Rosalie knew that she had to tell him the rest. “It's in LA.”

Brad's heart sank, but he had to be happy for his friend. “Well it could be a little closer.”

Rosalie felt terrible. “I'm sorry.”

Brad shook his head. “No need to be sorry. We've had this time to catch up. When do you have to leave?”

Rosalie finished her drink. “Right after the wedding. I start to work on July 6th. I had to fight to get them to wait that long.”

Brad smiled and took Rosalie's hand again. “Well, we're going to make the most of the next few weeks.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Everything was in place on the docks. Ava was to have Sonny meet her to talk about Avery. Ava was worried. This is where things went so wrong for Kiki. She waited and Sonny showed up. “Why do you really want me here Ava?”

Ava turned to Sonny. “I told you, that I want to talk about Avery.”

Sonny started walking around the dock and yelled into the darkness. “I'm not stupid! If you brought me out here to kill me! Have enough decency to do it in the open!”

Ava looked around. “Sonny, it's just us.”

Sonny played it to the hilt. “You really want me to believe that? Did they want you to kill me? The father of your child. Or maybe Carlos. He messed up last time. Maybe Paul. Although, I can't see him getting his hands dirty.”

Paul stepped out of the shadows. “I'd love to shoot you just to shut you up.”

Sonny walked over to Paul. “The cartel doesn't trust you to do the job?”

Just then three men stepped from behind Ava. “We thought you deserved to go out in a blaze of glory. One person couldn't provide that for you.”

Sonny turned and saw the men, then turned back to Paul. “So this is it?”

Paul smiled. “This is it. I thought you'd feel honored. Ava come here.”

Sonny pulled his gun and pointed it at Ava. “You did this.”

Ava held up her hands. “He made me.”

Paul yelled at Ava. “Shut up!”

Ava yelled back at Paul. “If you didn't have that damn tape, I wouldn’t have been involved in any of this!”

Paul had more than enough. “Go ahead and kill her. She's of no further use to me anyway.”

Sonny took aim. “It will be my pleasure. Goodbye A-va.”

Ava took the deck and Sonny took out the center man. Just as Anna, Jordan, the PCPD and WSB came on to the pier. 

Anna yelled for the men to drop their guns. The one hit by Sonny had already done so, while the others followed Anna's command. “We're only the tip of the iceberg.”

Anna walked over to Paul. “Now that we've got our illustrious District Attorney dead to rights, I'm sure he'll make a deal.”

Just then shots rang out. Jordan yelled for everyone to take cover. Ava ran over near Sonny, while Anna and Jordan tried to see where the shots were coming from. “I can't tell where they are. Can you?”

Jordan shook her head and yelled into her walkie talkie. “We're pinned down and need back up.”

All of a sudden the shooting stopped. Sonny stood up. “We already have it.”

Just then Max along with Lin Wu and her men, came onto the pier with several other men. “It was wise to have us hold back.”

Sonny smiled. “I can always count on you Max. Nice to see you Ms Wu.”

Lin smiled back at Sonny. “You too Mr Corinthos. We should work together more often.”

Jordan looked around. “Is everyone okay?”

One of the WSB agents was hit in the shoulder, but everyone else seemed fine. Anna looked back for Paul. “We're clear, but where's Paul?”

Sonny looked around. “Damn. You mean he got away?”

Anna looked down on the ground. “Not completely. It looks like he was shot.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas and Griffin were on a break. Lucas was going on about wedding plans, then he noticed that Griffin wasn't listening. “Griffin. Griffin!”

Griffin was pulled out of his thoughts. “What?”

Lucas frowned at his friend. “I know that I've been going on about nothing exciting, but is something wrong?”

Griffin got up and got more coffee. “I'm sorry. Anna just showed me the guy that killed my father.”

Lucas was shocked. “Carlos Rivera?”

Griffin stopped pouring and stared at his friend. “You know him?”

Lucas reluctantly nodded. “He worked for Julian.”

Griffin finished pouring. “Oh yeah. I forget that Jerome is your father. Anyway, I didn't expect it to affect me so much.”

Lucas felt bad for his friend. “I'm sorry man.”

Griffin walked back over. “Don't feel sorry. It's not your fault. You can't control the things your father did, anymore than I could have. Let's get back to your wedding.”

Lucas hated that Griffin would never know his father because of Julian. He remembered how things were back then. He was glad that Julian was no longer in the mob, but felt silly complaining about flowers and cakes, when Griffin was having a real crisis. “It's not important.”

Griffin didn't agree. “I want to hear about something good. You and Brad are about to get married. It's the most important day of your life. I know that you never expected it to happen.”

Lucas shook his head. Griffin had heard him complain about the men in his life. “You know me. I was afraid of commitment. I fell in love with Brad and I didn't even know it.”

Griffin got up to get more sugar for his coffee. “Get out.”

Lucas wished he was kidding. “Brad and I had our problems, but from the beginning he got under my skin. No matter what he did, I just couldn't shake him.”

Griffin tasted his coffee, when it seemed right he headed back over to his friend. “You said before that you had things to work out. Sounds like you had it bad though.”

Lucas nodded. “This was before we got engaged. He told me that he loved me and I froze big time. It was like he was talking a foreign language.”

Griffin was shocked by his friend. “So what did you do?”

Lucas ran his hand over his face. “After a talk with my father, I climbed on the nurse's station and announced to the hospital that I loved Brad.”

Griffin spit out his coffee. “No shit. That's not the guy that I remember.”

Lucas went to get a napkin to clean the table. “I know, right? After making him wait, I had to make it up to him. Now I can't wait to marry Brad. He's nothing that l ever thought I'd wind up with, yet he's everything I want.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad and Rosalie went for a walk after dinner and saw Paul. Rosalie could tell that he was hurt. She wasn't thinking and ran to him. “Dad! What happened?”

Brad was confused. “This is your father? He's the DA.”

Paul tried to reassure his daughter. “It's not that bad, but you gotta get me out of here.”

Rosalie turned to Brad. “Help me.”

Brad went to the other side of Paul. “Where are we going to take him?”

A voice came from behind them. “No where.”


	29. More To The Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad is surprised by what he hears and Lucas is shocked by what he sees.

Brad and Rosalie stopped. They continued to hold Paul up, as they turned around to see who was there. They didn't recognize the person, but Paul did. It was the man from the docks. “Let them go Benson.”

The man held the gun on them. “I warned you what would happen.”

Rosalie looked at her father. “What is he talking about?”

Paul quieted his daughter and tried to get Benson to focus on him. “Shh honey. They aren't part of this.”

Benson frowned. “You said it yourself. They were the start of all of this. All these years and we’re no closer than we were before. We should have known better than to trust you again.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Carlos was pretty pleased with himself. He finally was from under the Jeromes. He was on his way to see Sabrina. They would have to stay in Port Charles until the trial was over, but the world was his oyster. He mumbled to himself. “We can leave for Puerto Rico or maybe stay here. After taking down Julian I can probably take over. For once I'd be the boss.”

Carlos walked through the park and came into the clearing. He saw Bensen holding a gun on the DA and two others. “What the..”

Benson saw the man approaching. He recognized him and smiled. “Carlos Rivera.”

Carlos frowned. “Do I know you?”

Benson smiled slyly, at the unexpected turn of events. “No, but I know you. The man who sells out to the highest bidder. You're probably partially to blame for all this. What a waste.”

Brad and Rosalie jumped as they heard the gun go off. Brad turned and saw Carlos fall to the ground. He turned back to the man. “I really don't know what's going on here.”

Benson looked at Rosalie. “Maybe we should enlighten your husband. I'm sorry, that's ex-husband. Isn't it Susan?”

Rosalie closed her eyes, realizing that this man was part of the cartel. Brad looked at her confused. “What is he talking about and why do people keep mistaken you for someone named Susan?”

Since Rosalie didn't seem to want to enlighten Brad, Benson felt that he should. “You see, Rosalie Martinez is really Susan Rosalie Hornsby. She decided to take on her mother's maiden name when she started a new life after a terrible accident. She went away to school and that's where she met you.”

Brad was still confused. He turned to Rosalie. “Why didn't you tell me?”

Benson didn't bother to let Rosalie try to explain. He continued. “It wasn't material until you told her about your birth parents. Then you became of value to us. We wanted into the five families and we thought you would be a way to do that, but you just happened to be gay. A bit of a snag, except you were in the closet. Your parents helped when they thought you were a couple. That allowed Susan to marry you out of the goodness of her heart.”

Rosalie wanted Benson to stop. Mostly she wanted him to stop calling her Susan. “Stop calling me that?”

Brad frowned at Rosalie. “You married me to get to the Wus?”

Benson smiled. “I think he's figuring it out. None of that matters now.”

Paul was getting weak. “Just take me. It's my fault things fell apart. I underestimated Corinthos.”

Benson pointed the gun at Paul. “You did, but it would be too easy to kill you. I'd rather take something that means something to you. Goodbye Susan”

Two shots rang out, just as Anna and Jordan arrived, taking Benson down. Jordan checked Bensen, then immediately got on her walkie talkie. “We've got multiple victims in the park. We need at least 3 ambulances stat.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Griffin and Lucas were laughing. “Well it seems like your life with Brad won't be boring.”

Lucas finished his coffee. “You've seen first hand, when he volunteered to help out with Tracy.”

Griffin came to Brad’s defense. “That was because Mayes was being a tyrant. He wouldn't listen to reason. Plus I was right.”

Lucas laughed. “I'm obviously going to have to keep you two apart. You both like to break the rules and I'm afraid next time you won't have the Quartermains to bail you out.”

Griffin threw his cup away. “I don't know about that. I've got Monica in my back pocket.”

Lucas's phone went off and he answered it. “Hi Alexis. Oh no. I'll be there as soon as I can.”

Griffin frowned at Lucas. “Something wrong?”

Lucas threw his cup away. “They arrested my dad. Can you cover for me for about an hour?”

Griffin walked Lucas out, just as the paramedics came into the ER. Lucas saw Rosalie. “Rosalie? What the hell happened?”

The paramedics explained that there was a shooting in the park. “Take her in one.”

Griffin knew that Lucas was on his way out. “What about your dad? I can take care of her.”

Lucas put on gloves and headed into the room. “Rosalie is Brad's best friend. He wouldn't forgive me if I left her. My dad will have to wait.”

Griffin understood, and let his friend handle it. The second ambulance came in and Griffin went over to see if he could help. He recognized the victim right away. “Oh no. Brad.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas was working on Rosalie. She had a bullet lodged in her lower abdomen. “Come on Rosalie. You've got to hang in there. You've got a wedding to attend in a few weeks.”

Rosalie came to and Lucas smiled. “Hey there. You've been shot, but we're going to patch you right up.”

Lucas turned to the nurse. “Call the OR. As soon as we get her stable, we're going to have to get that bullet out.”

Rosalie tried to get up. “Brad.”

Lucas held her down. “Don't worry. I'll call him, but you've got to stay still.”

Griffin came into the examination room. “Lucas I need you to come with me.”

Lucas continued to work on Rosalie. “Just a minute. I'm almost done here.”

Griffin didn't want to say anything while Lucas was working on his patient. “Let the nurse finish. I need you to come with me now.”

Lucas wasn't sure what Griffin felt was so important. He gave the nurse instructions and went to see what he wanted. “What is so important that you felt the need to pull me from my patient?”

Griffin put his hand on Lucas's back and lead him toward the other examination room. “There was another victim besides Rosalie.”

Lucas was confused, as he threw his used gloves in the reciprocal. His mind still focused on Rosalie. “Is there a problem that you need my help on?”

Griffin had talked to many family members in this situation, but it was different with a friend. “No Lucas. The other victim..”

Lucas looked at Griffin and could see that he was having trouble saying whatever he was trying to say. He finally came to a realization. “Yeah you said that. What about them? Wait. No. Not Brad.”

Griffin nodded. “I'm sorry. He's in two. Dr Obrecht...”

Lucas rushed into the examination room. His worst fears were playing out in front of him, as Dr Liesl Obrecht worked frantically on his fiancé. “You're not going to die on me Mr Cooper.”

Tears began to fill Lucas's eyes. “What the hell happened?"


	30. Moments With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas worries, as Brad fights for his life.

Griffin had pulled Lucas away from Rosalie, who had been brought in with a gunshot wound, to tell him that Brad was also brought in. He stood and watched, as Liesl worked on his fiancé. “I don't understand.”

Griffin placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. “He was in the second ambulance. He must have been with Rosalie.”

Lucas started towards Brad. “I want to see him.”

Liesl didn't bother turning around. “Now wouldn't be a good time. Dr Munro, will you escort Dr Jones out to the waiting area?”

Griffin took Lucas's arm and Lucas pulled away. “I'm not going anywhere.”

Liesl didn't have time for Lucas. “Your hysteria isn't doing Mr Cooper any good.”

Griffin got a better grip on Lucas and pulled him out of the examination room. “She's right. Let's wait outside.”

Lucas didn't appreciate being pulled away. He snatched away from Griffin’s grip. “Brad needs me. I should be in there with him.”

Griffin agreed with Lucas. “He does, but he needs for you to be calm.”

Lucas spun around and didn't try and hide his anger. “Would you be calm, if someone you loved could be dying and they told you that you couldn't be with them?”

Griffin put up his hands and tried to reason with Lucas. “First, you don't know he's dying. Second, try and think like a doctor. You know standard procedure. They aren't saying that you can't be with him. Dr Obrecht will be out as soon as she gets him stable.”

Lucas calmed a bit, but his mind was racing a mile a minute. “I know what you're saying is true, but I just wish I knew what happened. Who would do this to him and to Rosalie?”

Anna came into the ER. She saw Griffin and Lucas. “Griffin, did they bring Rosalie and Brad in?”

Lucas rushed up to Anna. “Do you know what happened?”

Anna looked at Lucas and could see that he was worried. She didn't want to say anything before she had all the facts. “We're still piecing together what happened. How are they doing?”

Griffin stepped in to help out. “Rosalie is in surgery. Brad…”

Lucas didn't like being kept in the dark. He jumped in, tears now forming in his eyes. “Brad is fighting for his life and you can't tell me what happened!”

Griffin pulled Lucas back. “Lucas, she said they are still investigating. Attacking her isn't going to help Brad.”

Lucas let out a sigh in frustration and stepped away. Just then Dr Obrecht came out of the examination room and Lucas walked over to her. “How is he?”

Dr Obrecht removed her gloves. “They're prepping him for surgery. He had two points of entry. One where the bullet went through. It doesn't seem like it did any major damage. The second seems to have hit his lung. We need to get him to surgery before it collapses. Luckily the authorities were on the scene quickly, which is in his favor.”

Griffin stood next to Lucas. “Do you want me to scrub in.”

Liesl nodded. “I think you're the best one for the job.”

Griffin headed for the OR. Lucas called out to him. “You take care of him.”

Griffin turned and backpedaled down the hall. “Don't worry. I'll get him back to you as good as new.”

The orderly rolled Brad out and Lucas walked over to him. “Can I have a second?”

The orderly looked at Obrecht and she nodded.

Brad was still and Lucas leaned down next to him. He took Brad's hand. “Hey babe. It's me Lucas. They're taking you to surgery, but I’ll be right here waiting for you. Griffin is going to do the surgery, so you're in good hands. You come back to me okay? You've made me wait long enough and I'm not letting you out of this wedding. Besides my mom and Maxie will be angry after all their planning.”

Dr O put her hand in Lucas's shoulder. “He needs to go.”

Lucas nodded and kissed Brad on the forehead. He then watched, as they rolled Brad away.

Anna walked up and wrapped her arm around Lucas's shoulder. “He's strong. Griffin will pull him through.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Anna waited at the hospital. Rosalie was out of surgery, but she was still waiting for her to be brought down, so that she could ask her some questions.

Jordan came into the ER and walked over to Anna. “How are Brad and Rosalie.”

Anna crossed her arms in front of her chest. “It appears Rosalie had only a minor wound. I'm waiting for them to let me talk to her. Brad's is a little more complicated and is still in surgery.”

Jordan wasn't surprised. “From what Hornsby said Brad tried to protect Rosalie.”

Anna was to the point that she felt ill at the sound of Hornsby's name. For months he had played mind games with her and when she thought that she finally had him figured out, there was now a new twist. “What else did our soon to be ex DA have to say?”

Jordan put her hands in her pockets. “Not much. It didn't take long before he lawyered up, after he finished yelling for a doctor.”

Anna laughed. “What a baby. I saw his wound. The bullet only grazed him.”

Jordan nodded agreeing with her friend. “That's what the paramedic on the scene said. He treated him on scene and said that he didn't need to go to the hospital.”

Anna glanced over at Lucas, then stepped closer to Jordan. “What about the shooter? Were you able to identify him?”

Jordan also spoke in a lower voice. “Yeah. We ran his prints and came up with Earl Benson.”

Anna stood up straight after hearing the name. “Of the cartel?”

Jordan saw from Anna's reaction that she was familiar with the person. “Yes. You know him?”

Anna stepped away from Jordan and thought, then turned back to her. “Years ago he was just a henchman, but over the years he's worked his way up.”

Jordan nodded. “I'd say. Our records indicate that he was the leader’s right hand man.”

Anna could see that. “He was the cartel’s version of what Jason use to be to Sonny.”

Jordan didn't realize. “Then he's a good one to have off the streets.”

Anna felt the same way, but it didn't change one thing. “Too bad we couldn't have gotten him before he shot Brad and Rosalie.”

Jordan agreed. “I guess they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Anna turned and looked over at Lucas. “I’m not sure if that's true about Rosalie, but either way I don't think Lucas will be able to live with that explanation, if Brad doesn't make it.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bobbie came into the ER and saw her son. “Lucas!”

Lucas got up when he saw his mother and wrapped his arms around her. “I'm glad you came.”

Bobbie pulled back from the hug and grabbed her son's arm, pulling him back to the seats. “Of course. Have you heard anything?”

Lucas shook his head, as tears began to build in his eyes. “No. They wouldn't let me observe.”

Bobbie rubbed Lucas's back. “You're not a doctor now. It's better that you aren't in there.”

Lucas leaned forward on his knees. “But this waiting is killing me. He was so still when they took him up. Griffin is doing the surgery, but...”

Bobbie tried to help take Lucas's mind off things. “Griffin is an excellent surgeon. Brad's in good hands. Maybe we can go to the chapel.”

Lucas shook his head. “I don't want to get into my feelings about God right now. Let's just leave it as the chapel isn't the place for me.”

Bobbie didn't want to argue, but she felt it couldn't hurt. “Lucas…”

She was interrupted by Liz. “Lucas?”

Lucas got up when he saw it was Liz. She was holding something. “Do you have any word on Brad?”

Liz shook her head and held out the object. “They're still working on him, but I was cleaning up the exam room and when I moved Brad's clothes this fell out.”

Lucas took the blood stained bag from Liz's hand. “What is it?”

Liz shrugged her shoulders. “I'm not sure, but I thought you might want to hold on to it for him.”

Bobbie was curious. “What could Brad have been carrying on him.”

Lucas started to open the bag and remembered what Brad said that he was going to do that night. “He said that he was going to buy my wedding present.”

Bobbie watched as Lucas pulled an object that was wrapped in tissue paper out of the bloody bag. “Maybe that's what it is.”

Lucas's hands were shaking, as he unwrapped the tissue to reveal what was inside. “A pocket watch.”

Bobbie picked up a card, that had fallen to the floor and looked at it. “This is that antique store that's near the waterfront. That must be where he got it.”

Lucas flipped open the top. “It's inscribed.

_Lucas_

_Every moment with you is a gift._

_L Brad_

Lucas fought back tears and sighed as he closed the watch and Bobbie wrapped her arms around her son, while she rubbed his back. “He's gonna be okay.”

Just then Griffin walked up. Lucas saw him and rushed over. "How's Brad?”


	31. Lucky SOB

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas gets an update on Brad's condition.

Griffin was serious. “He’s one lucky SOB. Orbrect was right. The through and through did minimal damage. The other hit the lung, but must also hit a rib, because it just missed his heart and was lodged near the spine. I'm not sure what slowed it down. I would think that it would have gone through as well. Luckily it didn't. It would have done a lot more damage, if it had continued its trajectory.”

Lucas looked at the bag the watch was in. He held it up. There was a small hole in it. “Maybe this did it.”

Griffin frowned and shook his head. “It would've had to be more substantial than a paper bag.”

Lucas had notice a nick on the watch. Since it was an antique, he didn't think anything of it. He took it from the bag and held it out for Griffin. “It was. It's my wedding present from Brad.”

Griffin smiled. “I don't know if you believe in fate, but someone was obviously looking out for you two.”

Griffin handed the watch back and Lucas put it back in the bag. “Can I see him?”

Griffin headed back to the OR. “They should be bringing him down in about half an hour or so.”

Lucas turned to his mother after Griffin was gone. “I guess we have time to go to the chapel for a little while.”

Bobbie put her arm through Lucas's and lead him down the hall. “I just so happen to know where it is.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas sat by Brad's bed, he leaned forward close to him as he stroked his hand. He was a doctor, but at the moment he wasn't sure if that was good or not. His head told him that Brad would wake up when his body was ready, but his heart longed for him to open his eyes. “You know I'm not very patient, so can you wake up? I look at your vitals and I know that everything is the way it should be, but I'd feel a lot better if you'd open your eyes, so that I can know for sure that you're okay.”

Lucas heard the door open and sat up. It was Felix coming in to check on his patient. “How's he doing?”

Lucas glanced over his shoulder. He let go of Brad's hand to let Felix do his job. “He's stirred a few times, but he hasn't woke up.”

Felix checked Brad's vitals. “You were pretty out of it when you were shot. So you don't remember, but you were out for several days.”

Lucas took Brad's hand after Felix was done. “I'm a doctor and have talked to plenty of loved ones, it's worse on this side. I just want to know that he's okay.”

Felix put his hand on Lucas's shoulder. “He will be. He just needs time to heal.”

Brad mumbled. His eyes still closed. “How's a person suppose to do that with you two yapping?”

Lucas jumped up and moved up near Brad's face. “You're awake. How do you feel?”

Brad slowly opened his eyes. “Like a truck ran over me and then backed up and then ran over me again about 10 times.”

Felix chuckled, as he headed out the door. “There's been days that I wanted to do that to you. I’ll tell Griffin that you're awake.”

Lucas kissed Brad's temple and began to stroke his hair. “I'm so glad that you're awake. I was so worried.”

Brad was still a little groggy. “You're a doctor. Should I be worried? Other than feeling tired, I feel okay. All things considered.”

Lucas's concern turned to anger. “All things considered? You act like you tripped and fell. What's wrong with you jumping in front of a bullet. Aren't you the one that's always telling me not to be a hero?”

Brad tried to get up, but thought better of it. “Ow. Since you're mad at me, I guess that means I'll be okay. Everything happened so fast. I wasn't thinking. I couldn't let that guy shoot Rosalie.”

Lucas forgot that he was mad and put his hand on Brad's shoulder to stop him from moving. “Whoa. What do you think you're doing?”

Brad grimaced in pain. “I'm trying to sit up.”

Lucas pointed to the buttons on the bed. “That's what these are for. You could bust a stitch.”

Griffin came in. “And ruin all my hard work?”

Brad managed to smile. “Well we can't have that.”

Griffin walked over to Brad. “I'm glad you're awake. This one was driving everyone crazy. Seems that he loves you.”

Brad wasn't so sure. “You wouldn't have thought so a few minutes ago. I guess he didn't like me getting shot.”

Lucas didn't like to be made out to be a maniac, but there was one thing that he said that was true. He smiled down at his fiancé. “I do love you. You just scared the hell out of me.”

Brad squeezed Lucas's hand. “I’m sorry and I love you too.”

Griffin couldn't help making fun of the love birds. “You two should get married.”

Lucas laughed. “Very funny.”

Griffin finished up and picked up Brad's chart. “Well if it makes you feel better, Brad is going to be fine. Sore for a while, but fine.”

Brad pouted. “I guess the bachelor party's off.”

Griffin finished his notes, then left the two alone. “We can still do something low key, but they'll be no swinging from chandeliers. To make sure he behaves, you should tell him how lucky he is.”

Lucas walked over to the table and got the bag. “Liz gave me this.”

Brad recognized the bag. “Hey. You're not suppose to get that until the wedding.”

Lucas took the watch out of the bag. “I'm sorry I spoiled the surprise, but after Griffin mention that the bullet hitting something saved your life. I realized what it was. This present has even more meaning, then your beautiful inscription, because it made sure that we’ll have many more moments to share.”

Brad frowned. “So it's not too cheesy?”

Lucas leaned over and kissed Brad. “I love it and I love you, but can you promise to not jump in front of anymore bullets?”

Brad was getting tired and started to drift off again. “Not without my super suit.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad convinced Lucas to go to the ready room for a nap. He was resting, when there was a knock on the door. He lifted his head and a nurse peeked in and asked if he was up for a visitor. 

Brad nodded and she wheeled in Rosalie. “Hey there?”

Rosalie let the nurse know that she was okay and the nurse said she could have Brad signal when she was ready to go back to her room. She rolled over to the bed. “Hey to you too. I'm glad that you're feeling better. They told me that you were touch and go for a while.”

Brad made light of things. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Rosalie felt terrible. “It's all my fault.”

Brad didn't agree. A lot of that night was fuzzy. He frowned at his friend. “I think most of it was your father's fault. I do remember that right, don't I?”

Rosalie nodded. “Yes. I should have told you that before.”

Brad was curious. “Why didn't you?”

Rosalie let out a heavy sigh. “I want you to know that except for my name, everything that happened between us was real. I messed up my life big time leading up to the car accident. My face wasn’t the only thing that changed. The cartel paid my medical bills. I owed them. I knew nothing about the Wu family. I just mentioned it to my father, as a reply to what was going on. Just like the idea of us getting married. Then he pushed the idea of me going through with it.”

Brad raised his hand to stop Rosalie. “You don't have to explain. I get that you lied to me about who you were and your motivations. But I've lied my whole life. I know how you can get wrapped up in them and not seem to find a way out.”

Rosalie shook her head and looked at Brad, laying in the bed. “I need to explain. Look at you. You could have died. You jumped in front of me. Why would you do that after Benson told you about what I did?”

Brad looked earnestly at Rosalie. “Because you're my friend. I know that maybe towards the end, things weren't traditional. I guess that's the way things go with me. If you knew Britt, you'd know that. At the beginning though, I know that you were a true friend. You can't fake that. I won't tell anyone that you're Susan Hornsby, if you don't want me to.”

Rosalie smiled. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. “You'd do that for me? So does that mean you still want me in your wedding?”

Lucas came into the room. “He just took a bullet for you. Doesn't that mean anything?”

Rosalie turned and smiled at Lucas, then turned back to Brad and touched his hand. “It means everything.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad's parents had come in for the wedding, just as Brad was being released from the hospital. Brad had managed to get dressed and was sitting on the bed. Alice came into the room, followed by John. “Why are you dressed?”

Brad frowned at his mother. “I'm going home today.”

Alice started towards the door. “You've only been here a few days. I'm going to talk to the doctor.”

John caught his wife's arm. “Hold on there.”

Alice frowned at her husband. “What's wrong? I know how hospitals can be. They want to push you out as soon as they can. I don't want Brad having a relapse.”

Brad was hoping to be out before his mother got in from Iowa. He expected she'd be like this. “I'm fine.”

John gently guided his wife away from the door. “He says he's fine.”

Alice walked over to her son and gave him the once over. “I just want to be sure.”

John put his hand on his wife's shoulder. “Lucas is a doctor and I'm sure he wouldn't let him go home if he didn't think that he was ready.”

Brad was happy that him and his parents were in a better place. He was especially happy about his father, for trying to reason with his mother. He took his mother's hands. “Exactly. I'll get better a lot faster at home.”

Alice pulled her hands from her son. “In that tiny apartment!? You should stay at Bobbie's. That way I can look after you and cook for you. You're wasting away to skin and bones.”

Brad knew this was coming. “That tiny apartment is my home. It's a perfect size, because it won't be hard to get around. Bobbie has all those stairs.”

Alice couldn't argue with that. “Okay. I'll be sure to bring over a pot of my soup for you.”

Brad loved his mom's good intentions. “I'm not getting over a cold, but I'd love that.”

Alice frowned. “What do you mean? It’s good for everything. I’ll put some kale in it. Lots of iron. That'll make up for the blood you lost.”

Brad laughed and took his mom by the hand. “That should certainly help.”

Alice was being strong, but what almost happened, suddenly hit her, when she brought up the blood loss and she began to tear up. “I just can't believe I almost lost you. I just got you back.”

Brad pushed up from the bed and wrapped his arms around his mother. “You never lost me Mom.”

A tear formed in the corner of John's eye, as he smiled at his wife and son.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lin Wu watched the Cooper family through the door. She turned to leave, just as Ava came up to her. “You should go in and see him.”

Lin shook her head. “He doesn't want to see me. He's let me know that he's a Cooper and wants nothing to do with the Wu family.”

Ava touched her new friend’s arm. “Does he know what you did for him?”

Lin did what she did for the love of her family. Not as a way to get into Brad's good graces. “No and he need not know, because then he would realize that I'm partially responsible for him almost losing his life,”

Ava didn't agree with Lin. “The person that's responsible is Paul Hornsby. I've done some horrible things, but I would never use my children to get ahead in the business. He put his daughter and Brad's life in danger and I hope they lock him up and throw away the key.”

Lin agreed with Ava. “Maybe you're right, but that doesn't change the fact that Brad does not consider me his family.”

Ava watched as Lin walked off, then glanced into Brad's room. “Maybe he would if he knew the whole story.”


	32. Traditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Spencers has a surprise for Lucas and Brad, while Brad's father has one of his own.

It was just a week before the wedding and preparations were in full swing. Maxie had her check list and Bobbie and Alice were working on favors. “Did Carly talk to the decorator about changing the tablecloths. We still want the red, white and blue theme, but the sea of red covers would be distasteful after what Brad has been through.”

Bobbie reached for another ribbon. “She did. He said that there won't be a problem. I was thinking, maybe we can use different shades of red and blue, like in the flowers. That way it's not so intense.”

Maxie made a note, as Brad and Lucas came in. “That's a great idea.”

Brad looked around. “It looks like a bow factory blew up.”

Bobbie didn't let Brad’s comment throw off her rhythm. “We're making favors for the guest. You're welcome to join us.”

Brad could think of better ways to spend his afternoon. “I'm not very good at those kind of things.”

Alice could tell that her son just wasn't interested. “You can just sit and keep us company. How are you feeling?”

Brad wasn't 100%, but he knew better than to let his mother know. “I'm good. I'm going to do some half shifts next week. With us being gone, I need to make sure that everything will be okay.”

Alice wasn't completely happy, but she knew better than to make too much of a fuss. “You were shot. They'll get by.”

Lucas felt he should change the subject. He walked over and picked up one of the nets filled with candy. “I've seen these things before. Are they really necessary?”

Alice took a break. “Everyone does them, but Carly plans to do little baskets with cake inside. I saw one. It's really darling.”

Brad and Lucas glanced at each other. Neither really got the appeal of either. Lucas figured they would just get going. “We're suppose to meet Julian and John.”

Alice went back to her duties. “That's right. Your father son dinner. John left after lunch. He said that he had an errand to run.”

Lucas headed for the stairs. “I just stopped by for my tux. The tailor said that he sent it here.”

Maxie jumped up to stop her cousin. “He did.”

Lucas frowned at his pintsize cousin, blocking his path. “You knew this? Why?”

Bobbie got up and walked over to her son and niece. “Because you're going to be here the night before your wedding.”

Brad stepped up next to Lucas. “Why would he do that?”

Maxie looked at Brad. “Because it's bad luck for bride and groom or groom and groom to see each other the day of the wedding.”

Bobbie continued. “So you will stay at the apartment and Lucas will stay here.”

Lucas put up his hands and laughed. “Wait. You don't really believe that do you?”

Alice got up and joined the ladies. “Does it really matter. You want to start off on the best foot possible.”

Brad stood behind Lucas and placed his hand on his arm. “It's just one night. Besides, I don't think you're going to persuade these three.”

Lucas glanced at Brad and then turned and looked at the three ladies. Maxie crossed her arms over her chest, as Bobbie and Alice did the same. Maxie raised an eyebrow. “You should probably listen to your future husband.”

Lucas nodded and stepped back. “Okay. I guess you win.”

Brad headed for the door. “We should probably get going.”

Alice, Bobbie and Maxie watched as they left. Maxie turned and held up her hands for a high five. “Guess we told them.”

Bobbie laughed and smacked Maxie's hand. “We sure did. We better get back to work. I can't believe that we're almost done”

Alice sat back down. “Thank goodness. You know the boys brought up a good point, why do they pass these out at weddings any way? I hate candy covered almonds.”

Maxie and Bobbie thought for a second, then looked at each other before bursting out in laughter, as they shook their heads and said in unison. “No clue.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
John Cooper sat in the little tea shop. It hadn't changed much in the last 30 years, but he didn't seem as out of place. Back then this was the area known as the Asian Quarter. 

The owner came with his tea. She sat down across from him and began to pour it into the two cups. “I never expected to see you again.”

John took his tea. “I never expected to be back. I'm surprised that the shop is still here.”

The lady sipped her tea. “The money, helped me be independent. If I had gone into the cannery with everyone else, I would have lost everything as well. Instead, I changed with the turnover. There's always room for a little Chinese restaurant.”

John put down his cup. “I'm glad to see you.”

The lady smiled. “How is your wife and son?”

John took out his wallet and showed the woman a picture. “They're good. Brad will be getting married next week.”

The lady looked at the picture and then looked up at John. Tears were in her eyes. “He has her eyes.”

John took back the pictures. “They're your eyes. He's a wonderful man.”

The lady took out a handkerchief. “You raised him well. Much better than I could have. He needed a family. After losing Jun, I couldn't take care of him like I should.”

John reached out and took the lady's hand. “I'm so grateful that Mr Baldwin thought of us, when you put him up for adoption, but we both know that it was your husband that really wanted it. He should know you An.”

An pulled her hand away. “I couldn't go against my husband. After Jun died, he saw the child as cursed. You're his family now.”

John picked up his tea cup and swirled the tea around. “You don't really believe that. He came looking for his family. He found out about the Wus, but he couldn't find out about his mother. You can help him with that.”

After losing Jun, An longed to have a part of her, but her husband and the restaurant was all she had. He was determined and the money would help them. An tried to put her grandson out of her mind so she was surprised by what John was saying. “He wants to know us?”

John nodded. After almost losing Brad, he knew that he couldn't protect him. He felt that he should know his grandmother, but that couldn't happen unless she also wanted to know him. “Yes, but first I must tell you about him. If you can't accept him, then maybe it's best if you never know your grandson.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Julian, Lucas and Brad were already at the Metro Court, when John came rushing in. “Sorry I'm late. I lost track of time.”

Brad frowned at his father, as he sat down. “Mom said that you left after lunch. What were you doing all this time.”

John ordered a drink when the waitress came over. “I was walking around the old Asian Quarter. A few of the stores were still there. So I did some looking around.”

The waitress came to take their orders. Lucas gave her his menu, after putting his in. “Did you buy anything?”

John put his napkin over his lap. “No, but I might have found a wedding present for you Brad.”

Brad looked at his father. “Really?”

The waitress was bringing out salads. Lucas picked up his fork. “Maybe it's a Phoenix and a Dragon. We never did get any, after Sam claimed hers.”

John frowned at Lucas. “Sam?”

Julian chimed in. “That's my daughter and my wife's daughter. You'll meet her at the rehearsal dinner.”

John thought for a second as he began to dig into his salad. “That's right. I think Alice mentioned her. I forgot that you have 2 Lucas. I've met Carly several times, but I haven't met your brother either.”

Julian put down his fork. “He's just over a year old. He probably won't make it to the wedding. He loves his big brother though.”

Lucas laughed. “He loves anyone that feeds him.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad came into the police station. They wanted him to sign his statement about his shooting. 

Dante looked in the file. “The statement isn't here. Let me go check with the Commissioner. She was going over all that stuff.”

Brad was out of trouble, but the police station still wasn't his favorite place. He paced a bit when he saw his grandmother. She smiled at him. “Hi Brad.”

Brad was mixed with emotions. He still didn't like how she made a living, but after almost dying, somehow it didn't matter as much. “Hi.”

Lin stepped closer to her grandson. “Is everything okay?”

Brad nodded. “I'm just here to sign a statement. What about you?”

Lin pointed over her shoulder. “I was meeting with the commissioner.”

Brad couldn't help but ask. “Is everything okay?”

Lin nodded. “Yes. We just had some unfinished business. I should be going.”

Brad just stared at her, then finally spoke. “Okay.”

Lin started to leave, but then turned back. “I'm glad that you're okay. That means there's still a chance you'll want to know me.”

Brad watched as Lin left. He wanted to stop her, but his body wouldn't move.


	33. Final Single Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Griffin and Rosalie surprise Lucas and Brad, but Brad gets the biggest an even bigger one from Sonny.

It was still a few days before the wedding. Griffin and Rosalie had gotten together and planned a bachelor party. 

Rosalie was no bachelor, but she did go to college with Brad and was front row to many of his antics. Griffin gave his opinion from Lucas's point of view. He wanted to take Brad's health into consideration, as well. 

They decided to have something at The Floating Rib. They invited Lucas's sisters, cousins, as well as friends of both guys from the hospital. Griffin looked around. “I didn't expect such a big turnout.”

Rosalie looked around to see who was in the room. “Except for Felix and Donny and a few others from the hospital, it's all family.”

Felix and Donny were in charge of getting the boys to the location. They were going to have that dinner that they had talked about. Lulu saw them pull up and came running in. “They're here. Get ready.”

The crowd stood watching the door and when Brad and Lucas came in they all shouted. “Surprise!!”

Brad and Lucas were completely caught off guard. Griffin and Rosalie came over to them. Rosalie was pretty pleased that they pulled it off. “You really didn't know?”

Brad looked around at all the people. “I had no clue. I thought you weren't going to do anything.”

Lucas agreed. “Especially after Griffin said that Brad should keep it low key”

Griffin threw up his hands. “With your family, this is low key.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas and Brad mingled with their guest. Brad was getting another drink and Sonny was by the bar. “I haven't had a chance to welcome you to the family.”

Brad smiled. He never really talked to Sonny before. “Thank you Mr Corinthos.”

Sonny flashed his signature smile. “Call me Sonny.”

Brad nodded nervously. “Sonny.”

Sonny got serious. “I’ve wanted to talk to you since what happened on the waterfront.”

The bartender brought Brad's drink. “Thank you for your concern. I'm fine.”

Sonny put his drink on the bar. “I know, but I feel partially responsible. We had a backup up plan, but that SOB got away. If he hadn't…”

Brad had never heard everything that had happened that night. “What backup plan?”

Sonny rubbed his chin. “I never was one to work with the cops, but I wasn't sure what kind of power the cartel would have. I'm pretty good about handling my territory and the Jeromes and Wus…”

Brad interrupted. “The Wus?”

Sonny nodded. “Hornsby had her and Ava by the throat and they came to me for help. I'm just glad Anna and Jordan were able to get you and Rosalie to the hospital. I wouldn't be able to look Carly in the face, if something happened to you after what happened to Kiki and Morgan not that long ago. Carlos didn't make it, but he's just collateral damage.”

Brad nodded, as he took a sip of his drink. “I could imagine.”

Rosalie came over and grabbed Brad's arm. “Excuse me. Brad we need you over here.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Rosalie took Brad over by the jukebox, where Griffin had already brought Lucas and sat him in a seat. She sat him down next to his fiancé. Brad leaned over. “Do you have any clue what's about to happen?”

Lucas leaned over to reply. “No, but it can't be good.”

Griffin had a microphone. “I'd like to thank everyone for coming to the celebration of the final single days of Brad and Lucas. I think most of you know me. I'm Griffin Munro. I went to Med School with Lucas.

Griffin gave Rosalie the microphone. “And I'm Rosalie Martinez. I went to college with Brad. When I first met Brad, it was at a dance and I realized that he really had some moves. On the dancefloor that is.”

Everyone laughed, as Griffin took the mic back. “Lucas did too, but usually it was after he had a few drinks. So in honor of their impending marriage, Magic Milo thought this fellow...”

Rosalie took the mic again. “Actually a couple of fellows.”

Griffin smiled and took back the mic. “These fellows, could show them a few moves. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Austin and Tito!”

Lucas and Brad watched as Austin and Tito made their way through the crowd. They were dressed in a jacket, tee shirt and jeans, but it was obvious that that wasn't going to last long.

Lulu and Maxie howled and Molly began to whistle. Sam was a bit embarrassed, but not as embarrassed as Lucas and Brad were, as the two guys gyrated in front of them. Moving from one to the other. 

Felix stepped in front of a smiling Donny. “What are you looking at?”

Donny shook his head at his boyfriend, but snuck a peek when Felix turned back around.

The show ended with a flurry of shaking butts and the crowd cheered. Brad and Lucas got up and thanked the dancers. Rosalie and Griffin made their way over. Rosalie grabbed hold of Austin’s arm, getting a good feel of his bicep and smiled at him. “Are you available for private shows?”

Austin turned his gaze to Griffin. “For him? Anytime.”

Rosalie walked off. “Why is it always the cute ones?”

Griffin swallowed. “I'm going to pass.”

Austin and Tito walked off. “You don't know what you're missing.”

Lucas patted Griffin on the back. “Guess he told you.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Michael made his way over to Felix. “Hey Felix. I heard about Carlos. How's Sabrina?”

Felix looked at Donny, who went over to congratulate Brad and Lucas. “She's blaming herself. It was her idea to come back.”

Michael felt bad. “It's not. They've been looking for Carlos for a while. Eventually they would have got him and she and the baby may have been hurt too.”

Felix agreed. “I tried to tell her that. She's not listening. Eventually she'll get it, but she's in shock.”

Michael wanted to help. “Maybe I can talk to her.”

Felix shook his head. “She's not around. She went to Puerto Rico to take Carlo’s body home. It's going to be hard. They are going to have to grieve all over again. She'll be back and when she is, give her time. I wouldn't give up on her. Carlos was the father of her child, but I think she realized that things with them wouldn't have never worked. 

Michael was glad he talked to Felix. “Thanks. I’ll give her whatever time she needs. I still care about her and want to be there for her and the baby, if she'll let me.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas and Brad arrived home after their party. Lucas rubbed Brad's shoulders. “Are you tired?”

Brad loved the feel of Lucas's hands. “A little. It was a fun party though.”

Lucas wrapped his arms around Brad. “It was. Can you believe that we're going to be married in just a few days?”

Brad ran his hands over Lucas's arms. “Yeah I can, because tomorrow you won't be coming home with me after the rehearsal dinner.”

Lucas let go of Brad. “I still can't believe they're making us do that.”

Brad turned around. “I wasn't complaining. It's just that the only time we've been apart, except when you had to work, was when you were mad at me.”

Lucas smiled. “Well I'm anything but mad at you. I'll be thinking of you all night. I probably won't sleep.”

Brad frowned. “That's funny, because when I think of you, I sleep like a baby.”

Lucas was confused. “Really?”

Brad put his arms around Lucas's neck and pulled him in closer. “Of course. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Just the thought of you makes me warm and tingly all over. Which helps me sleep.”

Lucas began to kiss Brad. “Well, if that happens when you think of me, what happens when I'm close to you like this?”

Brad took Lucas by the face. “Well, that's different. Sleep is the last thing on my mind.”


	34. Family Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad and Lucas each spend some long overdue time with a relative.

Brad couldn't help but think about what Sonny had said the other night. He stood outside Lin Wu’s door. It took him a few minutes, but he finally rang the bell. 

The bodyguard opened the door and after checking with Ms Wu, let Brad into her living room. 

Brad looked around and didn't notice Lin when she came in. “I was surprised when my guard told me that you were here.”

Brad turned to face his grandmother. “I never expected to be here, but I heard some things and wanted to know if they are true.”

Lin took a seat. “What did you hear?”

Brad looked down at Lin. “I was talking with Sonny Corinthos. He said that you worked together to bring down Paul Hornsby.”

Lin nodded. “We did.”

Brad sat on the sofa near Lin. “He also said that Paul had something on you.”

Lin didn't look at Brad. She simply nodded. 

Brad could tell that whatever it was, Lin wasn't proud of it. “What did you do?”

Lin shook her head. “I didn't do anything.”

Brad was confused. “Then explain to me, why would you work with Ava and Sonny to get from under him.”

Lin let out a sigh. “I never wanted you to know.”

Brad frowned. “Know wha..”

Then all of a sudden Brad realized what Lin was hiding. “When my mother and I saw you at the Metro Court, you knew that I had been set free. You got me out of jail. What did you have to do for him?”

Lin stood up and walked over to pour herself a drink. “I had to give him my loyalty.”

Brad got up and walked over to his grandmother. “That's what he wanted all along.”

Lin turned to face Brad. “All along?”

Brad didn't hold anything that Rosalie did against her because nothing had really come of it. “I was married to his daughter. He hoped that would be enough, but I'm gay, so the marriage never had a chance. He arranged for me to think that I murdered that man. All to get to you.”

Lin nodded. “He knows how strong family ties are to me. The problem is that you never sought me out.”

Brad didn't understand. “When you came to me, I told you that I didn't want any part of you. Why did you do it?”

Lin offered Brad a drink, but he declined. “I did it for Kim. You didn't stand up to your father when I was younger. I was his only child. Being a woman, I wasn't permitted in his business, but my son was. At first I saw it as a way to win my father's love, but my desire, lost me my son forever. I didn't do right by him. So I hoped to do right by you.” 

Brad turned from Lin. It touched him that she would do such a thing given the way he treated her. He then realized something and turned back to her. “If I never reached out to you, how did you know about me?”

Lin put down her glass. “I wouldn't have, if your friend...but I guess he's more than a friend, isn’t he?”

Brad had no idea Lucas was involved. “You mean Lucas? Yes. He's my fiancé. We're getting married tomorrow.”

Lin put her hand to her chest, she hadn't realized that she had met the man that her grandson was going to marry, when Ava had told her. “I heard of your marriage. I didn't know it was so soon. He was so passionate about you. He must love you deeply.”

Brad smiled and nodded. “And I him.”

Lin smiled. “I'm glad.”

Brad was surprised. “Really? I expected more of a reaction from you. I told you that I'm gay and getting married and you barely reacted.”

Lin took her drink and went back to her seat. “Ava Jerome told me of your marriage to her nephew. I didn't connect it to the man that came to see me, even though I knew he was a Jerome.”

Brad understood now. “So this isn't a surprise to you?”

Lin took a sip of her drink. “I didn't know you existed until a few months ago. So I was taken aback at first. That being said, I may be old, but I'm aware of how the world has changed. I have done too many things in my life to become who I am, to judge you or anyone else, just because of who you love. It's a rare and special thing. When you are lucky to find it, it should be cherished. I had one love in my life. He died long ago. I wonder at times what he would think of me now and how my life would have been different if he had not died.”

Brad watched, as Lin stared off into the distance. He didn't see a mob boss, he saw an old women. His grandmother. “You're better than most.”

Lin came out of her thoughts and smiled. “There might be other things that surprise you about me.”

Brad returned Lin’s smile. “I'd like to have the chance to find out.”

Lin put down her glass. “Anytime you'd like to come back.”

Brad started to leave, but stopped and turned back to Lin. “I know it's short notice, but would you like to come to my wedding?”

Lin was normally reserved, but she had a hard time hiding her joy. “I would love to.”

Brad smiled and left. “I'll see you tomorrow.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sam hadn't been much of a part of Lucas and Brad's wedding plans. She and Lucas had only known they were siblings for a few years, but Danny adored him. 

She knew that things would be crazy at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding, so she wanted to spend some quality time with her little brother. 

Lucas came into the penthouse. “Where's Danny?”

Sam gave Lucas a hug and led him over to the sofa. “He's with his dad. I thought it'd be nice, just the two of us, without him demanding our attention.”

Lucas sat down. “Sounds serious.”

Sam had some ice tea on the table. “No. no. It's not. It's just that we don't get a lot of time to talk. Would you like some?”

Lucas nodded. “Yes. You're right. We don't. I'm glad that you did this.”

Sam handed Lucas the glass. “I wanted to let you know how happy I am for you. I know how things were when you first came back home. You and Brad had hit it off and then things went so wrong. But you still found your way back to each other.”

Lucas sipped his tea. “I didn't think we had a chance. He didn't give up on me though.”

Sam sat back with her glass. “Then there was the whole thing with Rosalie. Things kept being thrown at you, but you didn't give up. You inspired me.”

Lucas spilled a bit of his tea. “I did?”

Sam reached and got her brother a napkin. “Yeah. I never thought Jason and I could make it back. It just seemed like it was insurmountable, but I didn't give up and here we are. He, Danny and I are finally going to be a family again.”

Lucas was happy about that. “Thanks for waiting until after me and Brad.”

Sam ran her finger around the rim of her glass. “You weren't there for our first wedding. Jason and I don't do big weddings. So you and Brad are welcome to it. We’ll probably just go to the courthouse.”

Lucas put his glass on the table. “I wish we had done that. We haven't done much of the planning, but it's still stressful. All the decisions. I just figured we put on our tuxes and show up.”

Sam laughed. “And that's with two grooms. I don't see how my mom and Julian did it.”

Lucas agreed. “Well if that's what you want, you can count on your little brother to back you up.”

Sam smiled over her glass. “I knew that I could.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The rehearsal went fairly smoothly and the wedding party was getting ready for the dinner. Alice walked in with John. “I don't believe you did this without telling me.”

John took his wife's arm to keep her from going into the Metro Court restaurant. “He's got the right to know.”

Alice didn't agree. “Things are good between us. He's finally not hiding anything and he's happy.”

Alice biggest fear was to lose Brad to his birth parents, but John didn't think that was what they should be worried about. “They're good now, but what if he finds out that we knew about his grandmother all along. An Wong is a good person. She lost her daughter and was in a tough situation. Brad is her only grandchild and her only link to her. It's not right that we keep them apart. I understand when it comes to the Wus. We were protecting him. There's no reason to protect him from her.”

Alice closed her eyes and shook her head. “You're right, but it needs to be his decision. I still think your timing is wrong.”


	35. The Last Supper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad's parents have a surprise for him at his and Lucas's rehearsal dinner.

Lucas and Brad came into the dinner. Everyone stood up and clapped. Lucas talked to Brad out of the side of his mouth. “This is getting ridiculous.”

Brad agreed. Bobbie made her way over to her son. “You two are seated with the Coopers and me over here.”

Brad held out the chair for Lucas, then took his seat. Carly was seated across for him. “This is so great. Thank you for arranging it all.”

Carly raised her glass and made the first of many toast that evening. “Thank you for making my brother so happy. Here's to the happy couple!”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dinner was over and the guest were mingling. Lulu and Dante were talking with Lucas and Brad, when Alice and John came over. “Can we borrow our son?”

Lucas obliged and Brad kissed him on the cheek, before following his patents into the hall. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

John looked nervously at his wife, then turned to Brad. “I wanted to tell you that I talked to your grandmother.”

Brad got excited. He had wondered how he was going to bring the subject up. “You did? I never expected that. I did too, but I had no clue how to tell you.”

Alice was relieved. She thought this would spoil everything. “I know that we had problems with you checking into your past before, but so much has changed.”

Brad nodded. “They have. When we ran into her the other day…”

Alice was confused. “Ran into her? Who are you talking about?”

Brad frowned at his mother. There was no way that she would have forgotten. “Lin Wu of course. Who did you think I was talking about?”

John reached out to his son. “I was talking about your mother’s mother. An Wong. That's who I was seeing yesterday before dinner.”

Brad stood and looked at his parents in shock. “You found her? I dug and dug and I couldn't even find a picture.”

Alice wiped a tear from her face. “So you'd like to meet her?”

Brad smiled and nodded. “Yes. Where is she?”

John looked past his son, down the hall. “Behind you.”

Brad turned around and a woman stood down the hall, not far from him. She was modestly dressed and held her purse in front of her. She stepped closer to the group and spoke meeky. “Is this him?”

Brad walked towards her slowly. “You're Jun Wong’s mother?”

The lady smiled and nodded. “It's nice to meet you?”

Brad didn't hesitate and quickly wrapped his arms around his grandmother’s back. “I'm so glad to meet you.”

An wrapped her arms around her grandson, then pulled back. “And I you. I never thought that I would see you again.”

Brad didn't understand. He turned back to his parents. “I looked everywhere. How did you find her?”

An tried to help. “I own a Chinese restaurant. Just off Elm, Little Siam”

Brad thought about the area. “The old Asian Quarter. I looked all over that area.”

An thought that she knew what might had happened. “After the Wus left, there was still fear that they may return. I never wanted anyone to know your connection. So a stranger asking questions just rose suspicion. They never would have told you anything. For fear that the Wus would be behind it and come after me. 

Brad still didn't understand, but didn't care. His mother's mother was standing in front of him. “I'm just happy you're here.”

So was An. “I am to. I can look on your lovely face and see my daughter. You have her eyes.”

Brad didn't know. “I do? I've never seen a picture of her.”

An took a chain from around her neck. She opened a locket and held it out for Brad. “This is your mother. She was 20 when the picture was taken.”

Brad looked at the picture. There was a baby picture next to it. “Is this…?”

An put her hand over her chest. “It's you before the lawyer took you away. I've kept you both near my heart always.”

Brad ran his hand over the picture, then held the locket out for An. “Thank you.”

An pushed the locket back to Brad. “You keep it. It's a wedding present.”

Brad didn't know what to say, but he knew what he wanted. “Will you come to my wedding tomorrow?”

An smiled. “I'd be honored.”

Lucas came out. “Brad. Everyone is asking about you.”

Brad held his hand out for Lucas and pulled him close. “I have someone for you to meet. This is my mother's mother. An Wong. An this is my fiancé.”

Lucas smiled at the woman. “Oh my gosh. It's so great to meet you. Come in and meet the rest of the family.”

An looked down at her clothes. She had been working. “I’m not dressed and I should get back to the restaurant. You go back inside.”

Brad didn't want her to go, but understood. “Okay. I'll see you tomorrow.”

An smiled and nodded, but wanted him to know something before she left. She touched Brad's hand. “She got to hold you before she died. She was so happy and died peacefully.”

Brad teared up, as he watched her walk off and Alice wrapped her arms around John. “I guess you were right.”

Lucas rubbed Brad's back. “How did she find you?”

Brad turned to Alice and John. “My parents gave her to me as a wedding present and I'm so grateful.”

Alice and John wrapped their arms around their son and were just letting go, when Maxie came out. “Lucas! I gave you one job…”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Julian went over to Sonny. “Thank you for what you did for Ava.”

Sonny played coy. “I couldn't shoot her, the cops would have seen.”

Julian didn't appreciate the joke. “Very funny. You know I'm talking about the recording. How did you get it?”

Sonny looked around the room. “Given that Paul seemed to have the 5 families in his control. I wanted to make sure he had nothing incriminating on me. It just happened into my possession.”

Julian frowned at Sonny. “You finally had an opportunity to get what you wanted, Ava out of your life and Avery to yourself. What changed?”

Sonny turned to Julian. “When Ava came to me, I realized the Jeromes weren't my enemy. Paul played me. I don't like to be played. Carlos is dead. So the person who shot Duke is gone. Lucas is Carly's brother. I've known him since he was in high school. He's family. So as an extension I guess we are too. Whether I like it or not, Ava is Avery's mother. I swore a long time ago, that I would not do to Avery, what I did to Michael. If you and Ava can put aside your grievances against me, I can do the same.”

Julian put out his hand. “I'm all for that.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
People were leaving and Brad had to say goodbye to Lucas. “I thought this was going to be easy, but after meeting my grandmother, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to sleep.”

Lucas looked around for Bobbie. “I can tell my mom that we aren't going to do it. I can go over there in the morning. I think this whole not seeing each other until the wedding is stupid anyway.”

Brad stepped closer and grabbed Lucas by the waist. “That's okay. I'll be fine. I'm just a little overwhelmed. I thought this was going to be all about your family. Now it's my family too. Shit!”

Lucas frowned. “It can't be that bad.”

Brad shook his head. “I just realized that I forgot to tell my parents that Lin Wu is going to be there.”

Lucas shrugged. “They'll find out tomorrow.”

Bobbie came over. “We should get going.”

Lucas didn't bother to hide his disapproval, but he went along with his mother's request. He turned to kiss Brad goodbye. “Okay. I guess I'll see you at the wedding.”

Brad smiled and leaned in towards Lucas. “I'll be there.”

Lucas cupped Brad's face in his hands. “You better be.”

Brad kissed Lucas and waved at him and Bobbie, as they left.


	36. Wedding Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Brad and Lucas wedding day!

* * *

It was Lucas's wedding day. He rolled over and checked the time on his phone. There was a text from Brad. “ _Good morning. I can't wait to see you at the alter. Love Brad.”_

Lucas rolled on his back, to text him back. “Me either. Enjoy your last few hours of single life.”

Lucas sent his message. Then a few seconds later a reply came back. “ _They won't compare to the hours after I'm married to you.”_

Lucas smiled and got up. He threw on some sweats and a tee shirt and headed downstairs. He smelled the coffee the second that he opened the door.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad put his phone on the nightstand and then got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to make coffee.

He had just got the coffee down, when there was a knock on the door. He grabbed a shirt and rushed to see who it was. After peeking through the peephole, he smiled and opened the door. “Rosalie?”

Rosalie stood in the door, a smile on her face and coffee in her hand. “Good morning. Today is your wedding day.”

Brad ushered his friend in. “It is. What's this?”

Rosalie walked past Brad to the counter. “Coffee, croissants and fruit. Black with a shot of espresso right?”

Brad closed the door and walked over to join Rosalie at the counter. “That's right. I wasn't expecting you until later.”

Rosalie started taking things out of the bag. “You're getting married today. I've got a morning of pampering already lined up. So eat your breakfast and let's get this day started. You've got a wedding to prepare for.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bobbie saw her son coming down the stairs. “You're up. I just made coffee.”

Lucas made his way over to the buffet and picked up a cup. “I smelled it from upstairs. Are we the only ones here?”

Bobbie sat on the sofa. “Valerie went into the station. She'll be back later. I was getting use to a full house, with the Coopers here, but I can understand why they wanted to move to Metro Court though. It'll be easier for them.”

Lucas stirred cream into his coffee and made it over to his mother. “Good. That'll make it a relaxing morning.”

Just then, Carly came into the house, followed by Maxie. She was carrying a box and obviously not in a good mood. “We can't be changing seating charts now. We’ll just have to add another table and put the spillover there.”

Maxie was carrying a garment bag, her notebook and two shopping bags. “We can't do that. They're Brad's grandparents.”

Carly stopped and turned to Maxie. “Then they're old enough to know what an RSVP is.”

Lucas let out a heavy sigh and looked at his mother. “There goes the peaceful morning.”

Bobbie sipped her coffee. “I knew better than to think that.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad was leaned back with a seaweed mask. A manicurist was buffing his nails, as his feet soaked in a bath. “Why have I never done this before?”

Rosalie was in the chair next to him. “Are you sure you're gay?”

Brad lifted a cucumber off his eye, to glare at his friend. “You did not just ask me that.”

Rosalie smiled. “Most of my gay friends love the spa.”

Brad laid back down. “You should know by now that I'm not like most gays.”

Rosalie settled down into her chair. “Good point.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The seating chart was ironed out and it turned out that Carly had muffins in the box. So Lucas had one with his coffee.

Maxie continued to pour over her notes. What time where you planning on getting dressed?”

Lucas got up to get more coffee. “The wedding isn't until 3. I don't know. Maybe 2.”

Maxie frowned at her cousin. “We need to leave for the wedding by two.”

Lucas turned and looked at Maxie. “Why so early?”

Maxie got up and walked over to him. “You have to get there before Brad and have time to adjust to the environment. You can't just show up and walk down the aisle.”

Lucas knew that Maxie had done plenty of weddings, but he thought she was overdoing it. “That's pretty much what I planned.”

Maxie went back to her notes. “Well good thing you have me. I'd make that your last coffee too. It can make you jittery if your sugar level falls. Actually, with your diabetes, I should make sure you have snacks in your room. Don't forget to eat. Also, remember to drink plenty of water. It'll make your complexion glow for all those pictures that are going to be taken of you today.”

Lucas shook his head and started to take a sip of his coffee. He stared down into the cup, then decided maybe Maxie was right. “I'm going to go upstairs.”

Maxie yelled up behind him. “You might want to soak in the tub. It's not only relaxing, but it'll let you soak your feet. You'll thank me after all the standing you'll be doing today.”

Lucas grumbled all the way up to his room. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad and Rosalie came into the apartment. They had stopped for a light lunch at Kelly's. “That was a perfect way to start the day. Thank you.”

Rosalie was pleased with herself. “You're welcome. It's the least that I could do. You gave me back my life. I'm not hiding behind my father anymore.”

Brad sat on the bed. “Does that mean you're going to stay?”

Rosalie walked over and sat next to Brad. “No. I'm really looking forward to starting over in LA, but I'm going to keep in touch with Dillon and I'll come back East for visits to see my father. But I'm going to miss you.”

Brad hugged Rosalie. “Me too, but I wish you all the best. You're going to be great.”

Rosalie let go of Brad and wiped her face. “You keep this up and our morning at the spa is thrown out the window, along with my makeup.”

Just then there was a knock on the door. “We can't have that. I'll get the door and we just won't think about you leaving.”

Rosalie smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

Brad opened the door. It was his parents. Alice smiled and wrapped her arms around Brad. “My baby's gettin married today.”

Brad looked at his dad pleadingly. “Not if you strangle me.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas came down the stairs dressed in his tux and Bobbie saw him. “You look so handsome.”

Lucas hugged Bobbie. “Thanks Mom.”

Bobbie got a little misty. She sighed and walked over to the desk and got a box. “I know you're not into all the traditions and this is more for a bride than for a groom, but normally it's good luck to have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.”

Lucas nodded. He'd heard of that before. Although, he never could keep it straight. “So, I guess you want me to follow that tradition too.”

Bobbie took Lucas's hand and led him to the sofa. “I know you're not into traditions, but this one seemed to work out and I wanted you to have these. New and blue are easy. It's your tux and boutonnière. For something old, I found this.”

Lucas took the box from his mom and opened it. “Dad’s cufflinks.”

Bobbie took one out and began to replace the one in Lucas's cuff. “He'd be so proud of you.”

Lucas looked at the link that Bobbie had put on and couldn't help but tear up. “Julian has filled a void, but dad was there for so many special moments. Today I miss him more than I ever have.”

Bobbie hugged Lucas, after putting the second link in. “I know. So do I.”

Lucas pulled back. “So what's borrowed.”

Bobbie took out a ring. “This was Tony's as well.”

Lucas recognized it. “I didn't know you still had it.”

Bobbie opened Lucas's jacket and put the ring in his breast pocket. “I have a lot of things of your father's. It's hard to let them go. You and Brad have your own rings, so I want this one back. You can keep it here near your heart for now. Where Tony will always be.”

Lucas held his mother's hands to his chest. “Always. Thank you.”


	37. Keeping The Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad and Lucas are at the Metro Court. Brad gets one more surprise, before he and Lucas walk down the aisle.

Brad came into the hallway outside the ballroom. “Where am I suppose to go?”

Rosalie headed into the ballroom. “I'll see if I can find Maxie.”

Alice and John came in a separate car. They walked up to Brad. “Where's Rosalie?”

Brad turned around, when he heard his parents. “She's inside. I'm waiting to find out what room I'm in.”

Alice looked around. “It's after 2. We don't want to run into Lucas.”

John headed towards the elevator. “I'll be on look out.”

Just as he got there, Lin Wu stepped off. She was accompanied by 3 others. “Hello. I'm looking for the Cooper, Jones wedding.”

John directed them down the hall. Lin smiled and they proceeded in the direction that John indicated. When Brad saw her, he rushed over. “You made it.”

Lin smiled at her grandson. “Of course I did. I hope you don't mind, but I brought some people with me.”

Brad wasn't surprised. “I know that you probably always have your bodyguards. So it's fine.”

Lin motioned for the other people to join her. “I left my guards downstairs. That's not who I have. I thought you might want to meet your Aunt Jade and her husband Yank.”

Brad smiled at his aunt. “I've heard of you.”

Jade smiled. “I hope good things. We live in Pennsylvania, but I was so excited when my mother called. My daughter is in China studying, but this is my son Kim.”

Brad shook his cousin's hand. “I'm so glad to meet you. I wish you lived closer.”

Jade agreed. “So do I, but it's not that far. With it being a holiday though, we took an extra day off and Kim is off for the summer. So I hope we can spend some time together.”

Brad would like nothing more. “I'd love that.”

Alice and Rosalie came out. Alice stared at Lin. “I didn't know that you were coming.

Lin smiled at Brad. “My grandson invited me.”

Brad saw An approaching. “Along with my other grandmother.”

Lin turned, as Alice went over to welcome An. “Hello An. I'm so glad that you came.”

Brad saw Lin looking at An. “I'm not sure if you two will get along and you really don't have to, but this is my wedding. So please be civil.”

Lin walked over to An. “Maybe we should find a seat.”

Alice let out a sigh. “Nice job.”

Brad was pretty proud of himself. “Thanks.”

Rosalie had found out what room Brad was suppose to be in, so she led him down the hall.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas had gotten there before Brad and was already in his room. Julian came in. “Are you ready for this?”

Lucas turned and smiled at his father, as he hugged him. “I'm more than ready. Have you seen Brad?”

Julian stuffed his hands in his pockets. “No I haven't. There's a few people already in the ballroom, but I didn't go in there.”

Lucas was disappointed. “Oh well, he's probably in his room. You wouldn't have seen him anyway.”

Julian pointed over his shoulder. “I can go check if you want.”

Maxie came in, to bring in the flowers. “Check on what?”

Lucas watched as his cousin put the box on the table. “Brad. I was just wondering if he's here.”

Maxie started pinning on boutonnières. “He is. He's in his room getting ready. He got here a little after you did.”

Griffin came into the room. “The minister is having trouble with his mic.”

Maxie hurried out of the room. “Great. Where the heck is Carly. She's suppose to be on top of the lighting and sound system.”

Bobbie came walking in. “Where is Maxie running off to.”

The boys looked at Bobbie, then went back to figuring out the flowers and said in unison. “Don't ask.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad came into the room. The box of flowers were already waiting. Rosalie went to get Brad's boutonnière. She saw an envelope. “What's this?”

Brad saw that his name was on it and recognized the writing. “It's from Lucas.”

Rosalie thought it might be private. “I'll give you a few minutes to read it.”

Brad smiled at Rosalie, as she left, then began to read.

_Dear Brad,_

_If you're reading this, that means you're not going to leave me at the alter. Thanks for that._

_I can't believe this day is finally here. I wanted to get you a wedding present, but like with Julian and Alexis, nothing in the stores seemed right. So like them, I'm giving you something from my heart. Which is hard, because you already have my heart. I love you Brad, more than I thought possible. I can't wait to be your husband._

_Now put away this letter and get you_ r butt down the aisle.

Your _soon to be husband,_  
 _Lucas_

Brad smiled and put the letter back in the envelope and placed it in his breast pocket, just as Rosalie came back in. “It's almost time, but there's been a change in the program.”

Brad frowned at Rosalie. “Maxie's going to have a fit. What is it?”

Rosalie stepped to the side. “You've got a new best woman.”

Britt Westbourne came into the room. “Did you think you could get married without me?”

Brad rushed to Britt and hugged her. “How are you here?”

Britt frowned. “You mean you don't know?”

Brad shook his head. “I've been kind of busy with the wedding.”

Britt kind of understood that. “Nic was kicked out of ELQ. He's being investigated. What I did pales in comparison. So I'm free to come and go as I please.”

Brad felt bad. “I'd love to have you as my best woman, but Rosalie…”

Rosalie smiled and waved away Brad's concerns. “Don't worry about me. I got to do all the fun stuff. When everything went south at ELQ, I had Dr Obrecht call Britt.”

Brad frowned at his friend. “You knew this morning.”

Rosalie hugged her friend. “What's one more lie between friends. Save me a dance later.”

Brad smiled at Rosalie, as she left. “I will. Thanks for everything.”

Britt grabbed the bouquet. “Let's get you hitched.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Ava saw Lin when she came in and walked over to talk to her. “I'm glad you're here. So I take it that you talked to Brad.”

Lin smiled. “I did. He came to see me. It seems that Sonny told him about my part with Paul.”

Ava saw Sonny coming in, followed by Julian. “We were just talking about you Sonny.”

Sonny smiled. “I hope it was good.”

Lin nodded. “It was. We're grateful for the part you played in helping us with Paul and with my grandson.”

Sonny turned and looked at Julian. “Julian and I talked about this yesterday. After today, we're all going to be connected through Brad and Lucas. We may have our history, but we share a common goal, to protect our family.”

Lin smiled. “After working with you, I'd be honored to consider you one of mine.”

Ava never thought she would, but she had to agree. “If it keeps the likes of Paul Hornsby from getting another hold on Port Charles, I'm in.”

Julian knew it was corny, but he put in his hand. “If we were at the reception, I'd propose a toast, so this will have to do. Here's to us working together for the good of our newly formed family.”

The other three joined hands with Julian and said in unison. “To family.”


	38. Married

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad and Lucas say "I do".

Maxie recruited Lulu to make sure things went smoothly. Maxie kept track of Lucas and Lulu was in charge of Brad. 

Alice and John stopped by for one last time before the ceremony started. Alice hugged her son. “Just enjoy this day and try to take everything in.”

Brad smiled, as he stepped back. “I'll try, but I just want to get started.”

John patted his son on the arm. “Your mom's right. It'll be over before you know it and you won't know what happened. So don't rush. Enjoy every second.”

Brad nodded, just as Lulu peeked in. “Mr and Mrs Cooper. You're up.”

They each gave Brad one more hug, then made their way out into the hall.  
~~~~~~~~~  
Bobbie was adjusting Lucas's tie. “Don't be nervous. Maxie and Lulu will make things go smoothly.”

Lucas grabbed his mother's hands to stop her. “I'm not. I'm fine. I can't wait to marry Brad.”

Julian walked over. “It's been a long time coming, but it's here. I'm really happy for you two.”

Lucas smiled at Julian. “Thanks Dad. I'm glad that you're here.”

Julian patted Lucas on the shoulder. “So am I. I know we started off rough, but I'm so glad that we made it past all that.”

Bobbie began to cry. “Tony would be so proud of you.”

Lucas was concentrating on Brad, but when his mother mention his father, he began to miss him. “I hope so. I still remember our last time together, when he told me that. I hope he'll always be.”

Bobbie hugged her son. “How could he not be?”

Maxie poked her head in. “The Coopers are on their way in. Bobbie and Julian, you're next.”

Bobbie and Julian hugged Lucas and made their way out.”  
~~~~~~~~~  
Britt was waiting her turn. “I saw the picture of you and Lucas on the cover of Crimson. You've finally made it Brad. I so envy you.”

Brad smiled at his friend. “I still can't believe you're here. This day wouldn't be complete without you.”

Britt hugged Brad. “You're probably my only friend. I'm so glad that I could be here.”

Brad stood back. “Well now that you're back, we're going to change that.”

Britt crossed her arms and jokingly teased Brad. “I don't know. Rosalie looks like she took my spot.”

Lulu called for Britt. “You’re up Britt.”

Brad grabbed Britt's hand before she left. “No one could ever take your place.”

Britt smiled. “I think Lucas did that a while ago. I'll see you at the end of the aisle.”  
~~~~~~~~~  
Griffin was checking his pockets and mumbling to himself and Lucas frowned at him. “Is everything okay? You're looking a bit flustered.”

Griffin patted his breast pocket. “I heard about what happened to you at your father's wedding. I was just making sure that I have the ring.”

Lucas smiled and patted his friend on the back. “I think you're more nervous than me. I hope you make it down the aisle okay.”

A look of sheer panic came over Griffin’s face. “What if I trip?”

Maxie called for Griffin. “Griffin. You're up.”

Griffin began to breath hard. “Great! I don't have time to practice.”

Lucas walked Griffin to the door. “You practiced at the rehearsal last night and you did fine.”

Griffin had forgotten all about the rehearsal. He checked his pocket one more time, then made it out the door. “That's right. Just step to the music.”

Maxie stepped in. “Is he going to be alright?”

Lucas laughed. “He’ll be fine. Rosalie will get him down the aisle.”

Maxie didn't have time to worry about it, but figured that she should tell Lucas about the addition to the ceremony. “Oh, I should tell you so that you aren't shocked. Rosalie is sitting out. Britt showed up unexpectedly.”

Lucas was shocked. “Really? I'm happy for Brad. Now everyone that means something to him is here.”

Maxie just hoped that there would be no more changes. “She's not my favorite person, but you're right. That's what weddings are about. It's your turn. You ready to see your groom?”

Lucas buttoned his jacket. “Am I.”

Lulu let Brad into the hall and he saw Lucas as he approached him. He said meekly. “Hi.”

Lucas took Brad by the waist. “Hi. I've missed you.”

Brad smiled broadly. “Me too.”

Lulu and Maxie stood on either side waiting for the cue to open the doors. “No time for kissing. It's time for you to get this show on the road.”

Lulu smiled. “The next time we talk you’ll be Mr and Mr….uh.”

Lulu looked over at Maxie and Maxie looked back at Lulu, then turned to the boys. “What are you going to be?”

Brad and Lucas looked at each other and smiled, before saying in unison. “MARRIED!”

The music started and Lulu and Maxie shrugged, as they opened the doors.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Everyone stood as Brad and Lucas made their way down the aisle. Bobbie and Alice both dabbed at their eye with a tissue. John rubbed his wife's arm. “He looks so happy.”

When they made it to the front, everyone took their seats. Mac had asked if he could perform the ceremony. He and Frisco had their problems, but Tony was one of his dearest friends. “We've gathered today for the marriage of Bradley John Cooper to Dr Lucas Jones….”

Julian smiled over at Alexis and she squeezed his hand.

After Kristina read a poem, Mac continued. “Brad and Lucas will you join hands?”

The two turned to each other and Brad reached out and took Lucas's hands, then Mac continued. “Everyone that is present, knows that Brad and Lucas have waited a long time for this day and have prepared their own vows. Brad, would you like to start?”

Brad nodded at Mac and smiled at Lucas, as he looked out at his family and friends sitting and watching them. “I wrote my vows a while ago, but after the last few days, they don't seem appropriate. I did some bad things when I first came to town and hurt a lot of people. To think that I'm standing here now, is a miracle all on its own. Some might not believe me, but that person is long gone.”

Brad turned to Lucas. “I found love. In you. A love that showed me that I didn't have to lie to get what I wanted. I just needed to be myself. You saw in me from the start, the man that I could be. A man that I had forgotten. When I stood up and faced my true self, I got everything that I had always wanted. I have you and I have a family.” 

Brad looked at his family and they smiled. He smiled back. “Who would have thought that I could have almost as many people on my side, as you have on yours.”

Everyone laughed. Brad turned back to Lucas. “You made this possible and because of that, I promise that I will love you and be truthful to you, for the rest of my life.”

Mac turned to Lucas. “Lucas will you recite your vows?”

Lucas fought back tears. “I'll try, but I'm not sure I can remember them now,”

Griffin reached in his pocket and offered a piece of paper to Lucas. “I've got them.”

Lucas wiped at his nose. “That's okay, I'll wing it.”

Maxie mumbled in the back. “Great! We're already behind schedule.”

Lucas turned to Brad. “As Mac said, this hasn't been easy, but in spite of what people might think, it's not all because of you. I think I loved you the first time I met you, although I had no clue. Love was something other people talked about, not me. I thought it was this unattainable thing.”

Lucas turned and looked at Julian. “Then one day my father told me that love is different for everyone and that you can fight, but it still might not work. I listened to him and thought I understood what he was trying to say.”

Lucas turn back to Brad. “I thought love was this perfect thing that you held onto. It was special, just between you and the one person. It is, but that's only part of it. It changes and is tested over and over and it's far from perfect. We’ve had our test and I thought that meant we weren't meant to be, instead I learned that I just had to adjust to the new situation.”

Lucas smiled at Brad. “I don't pretend to know everything, but I do know that the good that’s between us, is much better than anything bad that has been thrown our way and far better than being without you. Because of that, I promise that I will love you and be truthful to you, for the rest of my life.”

Mac looked between the two men. “The hard part is over. Now it's time to exchange rings. All you have to do is repeat after me. Britt can you give Brad the ring for Lucas?”

Britt realized that she didn't get the ring. She shrugged, but then Rosalie hopped up from the front row and gave it to her. She took it and then handed it over to Brad. “Thanks. Here you go.”

Brad took the ring from his friend. “Guess that comes from filling in the last minute.”

Brad repeated after Mac and then slid the ring on Lucas's finger. Then Mac turned to Griffin. “Griffin do you have Lucas's ring?”

Griffin smiled and held it up. “Right here.”

Mac nodded. “Good. Can you give it to Lucas and Lucas repeat after me.”

Lucas smiled and took the ring from a very relieved Griffin and repeated after Mac, then slid the ring on Brad's finger.”

Mac reached for Brad and Lucas's ringed hands. “May I close with this. Your gift to each other for your wedding today has been your wedding rings. The wedding ring is a symbol of the vows taken here today…….a circle of wholeness perfect in form. The unending circle of a ring is a sign of fidelity, the pledged faithfulness of a couple to each other. These rings mark the beginning of an unending journey together filled with wonder and surprises, laughter and tears, celebration and joy. May these rings glow in the warmth and happiness of you both today.

There may be times filled with happiness, sorrow, tears or laughter, whatever it may be, remember this day and this marriage ceremony, remember the love that brought you here, it is this love that will make the good times more joyous and help you through the tough times.”

Mac released Brad and Lucas's hands. “Brad and Lucas, as you have consented together in lawful wedlock and have pledged your love to each other, and have declared the same by joining hands and giving and receiving of rings, by the powers vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you are now married!”

Mac leaned forward and whispered. “That's your cue to kiss. If you want to.”

Brad and Lucas looked at Mac and Lucas took Brad by the face, pulling him to him. “Oh I want to!”

Brad raised his hands to Lucas's face and everyone stood and clapped.

They parted and Brad offered Lucas his arm. Lucas slid his through Brad's and they proceeded back up the aisle. Followed by Britt and Griffin, Bobbie, Alice and Julian, John.

Maxie smiled as they walked by. “I actually got a wedding to go off without a hitch.”


	39. Only Happy Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad and Lucas celebrate their marriage with their family and friends.

The family and friends spilled out into the hall for hor'dourves and cocktails, while the room was set up for dinner. Alexis held on to Julian's arm. “They did it.”

Julian was feeling misty. “Yeah they did.”

Bobbie came over. She was never a fan of Julian, but accepted him because Lucas was determined to have him in his life. “I didn't know that Lucas talked to you about Brad. Thank you for being there for him, since Tony can't be.”

Julian smiled at Bobbie. “I'll always be there for my son when he needs me.”

Bobbie bit her lip. “Maybe, I've misjudged you Julian.”

Julian grabbed some champagne from the tray as it went by. “Let's not dwell in the past. Let's think about Lucas's future.”

Bobbie took the glass from Julian and she held it up. “I'll drink to that.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alice and John made their way over to Lin and her family. “Thank you for coming.”

Lin smiled. She was happy to be included. Since taking over the triad, her life was more business and rarely were relaxed family functions. “Thank you for having me. I want you to know that I would never bring Brad into my business. Jade walked away, but we still have a relationship.”

Jade made a confession. “It took a while. My brother and grandfather did a lot of damage, but we are stronger for it. I can't wait to get to know my nephew.”

John was relieved. His biggest fear was Brad would somehow be drawn into his father's family business. “That's good to know. I'm sure he'll have questions. Like he will for An about his mother. We were only trying to protect him.”

Lin nodded that she understood. “As any good parent would. If I had protected my son, he may still be with me. I will not let the same happen to his son. Lucas's father and I have both made that pledge.”

An had been mingling with the other guest. She was having a great time, getting to know Lucas's family. She wanted to talk more to her grandson and made her way over to the Wus and Coopers. She was looking around. “What a beautiful wedding! I was looking for Brad. Have you seen him?”

Alice smiled at An. “We'll see them at the reception. I think they are getting a little alone time, after being apart last night.”

An covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled shyly. “I should have known.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad pushed Lucas against the wall, covering him in kisses before pulling back. “Can you believe that we're finally married?”

Lucas slightly protested his husband pulling away and grabbed Brad by the face, to bring him back for more. “What I can't believe is that it went so smoothly. There were 4 known mobsters in the room.”

Brad pulled back and walked away and thought about what Lucas had said. “There were. We might have singlehandedly brought peace to Port Charles.”

Lucas caught up with Brad and grabbed him by the waist to stop him and rested his chin on Brad's shoulder. “I think Paul Hornsby did that. They all worked together to bring him down.”

Brad thought for a second. “What if that was his plan all along.”

Lucas frowned. “To end crime?”

Brad pulled from his new husband’s grasp and turned around. “No, to keep us apart.”

Lucas frowned. “You think he didn't want us married? I thought a lot of things about Paul Hornsby, but homophobe wasn't one of them.”

Brad shook his head. “Of course not, but he tried to keep me married to Rosalie, just to have an in to the Wu family. He knew I was gay, so he came up with that fake murder. Then when we got together, that must have really worried him. He must have known the impact that our marriage would cause and that would have messed up his plans.”

Lucas understood now. He pulled Brad in close to him. “Hmm. You're telling me that we determine if the mob remains at peace or is thrown into chaos. That's a lot of pressure on us to stay married.”

Brad smiled slyly and nodded. “It is, so I guess you're stuck with me.”

Lucas began to kiss Brad. “You won't get any complaints from me.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The reception was open. Carly had complained, but they rearranged the tables. Bobbie, Julian, Alexis, Alice, John and Ava were now seated with Lin, and An. 

Carly and Sonny were originally at the table with them. They moved over to sit with Maxie, Lulu, Dante, Sam and Jason. Jade, Yank and Kim joined them, as Britt threw things off, with her unexpected appearance. 

She, Griffin and Rosalie, elected to sit at the extra table. Maxie looked at them in the back of the room. “I don't mind Britt is stuck back there, but I feel bad about Griffin and Rosalie.”

Lulu sipped her water. “Something had to mess up.”

Maxie frowned. “I guess. Where are Brad and Lucas? They can't start serving until they're seated.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad and Lucas were just about to go inside. Brad was adjusting Lucas's tie, when Maxie came out. “There you are. They're ready to announce you. What do you want them to call you?”

Lucas shrugged. “How about Brad and Lucas.”

Brad shrugged, as he nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Maxie went back in. “Okay. Brad, your fly is open.”

Brad looked down and Lucas quickly attended to his husband and smiled slyly at him. “I'll get that. After all, it's my fault it's down.”

Lucas and Brad made their entrance. Everyone stood and clapped as they came in. They had a special table in the front of the ballroom, to the side of the dance floor.

They waved at everyone and started to sit down, but then people started hitting their glasses. Lucas frowned. “What does that mean?”

Brad smiled and grabbed Lucas by the face, pulling him into a kiss. “They want this.”

Everyone cheered. They parted and took their seats. Lucas smiled and picked up his spoon. “Does that work if I click my glass too?”

Brad put his hand behind Lucas's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. “That's not necessary. You can kiss me anytime that you want.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After dinner Lucas and Brad made their way around the tables. They stopped to see their parents. John couldn’t contain himself. “I can't remember the last time that I saw you so happy. What was I thinking, making you feel bad for who you are?”

Brad walked around to his father. “It's fine. We're not going to think about the past. This wedding is about new beginnings.”

Lucas agreed with his husband. He stood between his mother and father and placed his hand on both of their shoulders. “Exactly. We all had problems in the past. That's not important now. So, no tears today, except for happy ones.”

They made their way over to Carly, Maxie and Lulu. Lucas rubbed Maxie's shoulders. “Thank you for everything that you've done. Everything is perfect.”

Maxie put her hand on Lucas's. “I had a great time. Not with just the wedding. The magazine too. You're going to let us do a follow up right?”

Brad smiled. “For you Maxie? Sure.”

Carly got up and stood between Brad and Lucas. “I’m just happy that my baby brother is finally married. I really wish you two all the best.”

Lucas kissed Carly on the cheek. “Thank you sis.”

Sam didn't like being left out. “What am I, chopped liver?”

Lucas walked around and kissed Sam on the cheek. “I haven't known you as long, but I'm happy to call you my sister as well.”

They made it to a few more tables, when Maxie rushed over. “It's time for the first dance.”

Brad held out his hand. “Shall we?”

Lucas placed his hand in Brad's. “We shall.”

They walked out on the floor and the lights were lowered, with a few lights on the dance floor. The DJ started playing, It Had To Be You. Lucas grabbed Brad by the waist and pulled him in close. Brad smiled and slid his arms under Lucas's, beneath his coat and rested his hands on his butt. Their foreheads touched and they slowly swayed to the music. 

Alice got up to see better. Bobbie again began to dab at her eyes. Lin and An smiled at their grandson. 

Julian seemed the most affected. He watched his son, then leaned over to Alexis. “Watching him now, I couldn't be more proud and I have you to thank for that.”

Alexis patted her husband’s hand. “You're welcome, but remember, no sad thoughts.”

The song ended and the boys made their way off the floor and to the parent’s table. Lucas patted Julian on the shoulder. “We're going to do mother son dances, but if you want to do a father of the bride one, I'm willing.”

Julian adjusted himself in his seat. “That's okay.”

John yelled across the table. “Awww. I'll do one if you will.”

Brad put his hand out for his mother. “I'll hit you up for the chicken dance later.”

John got excited and started flapping his arms. “I'm there.”

Lucas and Brad lead their mothers to the dance floor and What A Wonderful World began to play.

Bobbie started to cry right away. “Those better be happy tears.”

Bobbie nodded. “They are. I've always wanted this for you. Watching you say your vows and your first dance today, you could just feel the love. I'm so glad you and Brad found each other.”

Lucas smiled past his mother at Brad. “So am I.”

Brad saw Lucas smiling at him and smiled back. Alice looked over her shoulder. “I look at you and it reminds me of your father and me. You can see how much you love each other.”

Brad looked down at his mother. “I feel like I'm the luckiest man in the world.”

Alice put her hand on the side of her son's face. “I hope you never lose that feeling.”

After dancing with their mothers, Lucas and Brad were suppose to dance with Rosalie and Britt, but instead they went and got Lin and An. Griffin decided they shouldn't be left out. He led the two ladies onto the floor and danced with them both, before the DJ opener up the floor.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad and Lucas cut the cake and continued to mingle with their guest.

Everyone had a good time. Brad made good on his promise to his father to do the chicken dance. Carly noticed something and called everyone to the balcony. “The fireworks have started.”

Brad took Lucas's hand and they made their way outside. They stood with their arms around each other's waist. Brad smiled, as one went off. “Isn't it beautiful?”

Lucas looked down at his husband. “You certainly are.”

Brad turned to Lucas and they kissed. 

After the fireworks were done, they went back inside for more dancing and toasts, the reception started to wind down. Lucas and Brad got everyone's attention. Lucas stood with his arm around Brad’s waist. “Hey everyone!”

People quieted down and turned to the dancefloor. Lucas continued. “Brad and I wanted to thank you all for sharing our special day.”

Brad took the mic. He looked over at his aunt and grandmothers. “It's so great being here with our family and friends.”

Lucas again began to talk. “It was everything that we dreamed of and more. Each of you has touched our lives in some way and we are so grateful. Thank you for your support and love. We could not be standing here married today, without it. We love you all.”

Brad took the mic again. “..and it might not have been easy, but we appreciate that no one was shot.”

Lucas took the mic from his husband and Brad shrugged, as they left the floor and the DJ announced the last dance. Julian came over. “Are you guys heading out?”

Brad nodded. “I think so. Sorry about that last comment.”

Julian hugged Brad and then Lucas. “Given how my wedding ended, I can completely understand. You should know that we've made a truce. Like it or not, because of you two we're all family.”

Lucas and Brad looked at each other. “Really?”

Julian nodded. “Really. Now that you're married, don't forget to stop by and check in on your old man from time to time.”

Lucas laughed. “You're far from old. We'll be sure to stop by and bore you with our honeymoon pictures. That'll make you take back that statement.”

Julian patted Lucas on the back. “Never.”

Brad walked up to Lin and An. “I'm glad you two could come.”

Lin smiled. “I'm glad you asked me.”

An touched Brad’s arm. “When you two return, you'll have to come by the restaurant. I have a few more pictures of your mother.”

Brad was excited. “We'll be sure to do that.”

Molly and Kristina had cornered Lucas. “You two are so adorable.”

Lucas smiled. “One day it might be you and TJ.”

Molly shook her head and Kristina felt the need to interject. “She's already sworn off marriage.”

Lucas shrugged. “Never say never. I didn't think it would happen to me.”

Kristina understood where Lucas was coming from. “I hear ya.”

Lucas put his hand on Kristina's arm. “You just have to let it happen. Brad and I weren't looking for each other. Fate just kind of put us in the same place at the same time. It can be the same with you.”

Brad made his way over to Jade and Yank. “We'll meet up for lunch tomorrow.”

Yank shook Brad's hand. “We're here all day. We can make it dinner if you'd like.”

Brad glanced over his shoulder. “Maybe you're right.”

Jade hugged Brad and smiled. “You have our number. Either is fine.”

Lucas got Lulu and Maxie in a group hug. “You two are the best cousins ever. Thank you for everything.”

Lulu smiled. “You're the best cousin ever. We wanted your day to be special.”

Lucas nodded. “It was. I'm going to remember it forever.”

Maxie couldn't help herself. “A Crimson follow up story would help with that.”

Lucas pulled Maxie into a hug. “We'll talk when we get back.”

Brad had made his way over to Britt and Rosalie. “You two looked like you were having fun.”

Britt pointed at Rosalie. “I can see why you married this girl, she's a hoot.”

Rosalie agreed “I'm kind of sad that I'm moving away. We could totally be BFFs”

Brad gave Rosalie a hug.”Don't remind me. I can't believe that you won't be here when I get back.”

Rosalie let go of the hug. “I promise, we won't lose touch this time.”

Brad agreed. “I won't let it happen.”

Lucas came over. “Are you ready to go?”

Brad nodded. “Sure am.”

Everyone lined up on either side of the door as Brad and Lucas left. There were no doves or butterflies, but the guest held up sparklers for the grooms to exit through.”

Alice and Bobbie leaned on each other. “They're gone.”

Alice nodded. “They are. Brad not only has a husband, but I feel like we finally have that big family that we always wanted.”

Bobbie hugged Alice. “You are family. I hope now you'll come and visit more often.”

Alice smiled, as she let go of Bobbie. “We will.”


	40. The First Of Many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas and Brad share their first night as husbands.

It was almost midnight when Brad and Lucas got to their suite. Brad looked around. “Wow this is quite the room.”

Lucas walked over to the window. “You get the penthouse when your sister owns the hotel. There's a balcony.”

Brad walked over to join him, as he opened the door. “Quite the view from up here.”

Lucas pointed off into the distance. “There's still a few fireworks going off.”

Brad watched. “How nice of them to celebrate our wedding.”

Lucas chuckled, as he put his arm over Brad's shoulder and they watched for a while. “Yeah it is. This has been the perfect day.”

Brad put his arm around Lucas. “It has. The first of many.”

Lucas kissed the side of Brad's head. “And I'm looking forward to every one.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas and Brad had made it as far as the sofa, in the living room of their suite. They managed to get their shoes off, but that was about it. Brad was leaned back on the pillows and Lucas was tucked in under his arm. His foot was up on the arm of the sofa.

Brad lazily played with Lucas's hair. “Sitting down was a bad idea. Now I don't feel like moving.”

Lucas squirmed his way up and turned to look at Brad. “We can stay here or I can carry you.”

Brad remained pinned in the corner. “You don't have to. I’d rather sleep in the bed. I can get up.”

Lucas got up and proceeded to slide his hands under his husband. “I should have carried you into the room. Isn't that what you're suppose to do after the wedding?”

Brad put his arm around Lucas's neck and allowed him to pick him up. “That's when you enter your new home.”

Lucas stopped and looked at Brad for a second, before continuing into the bedroom. “Oh. Well you can carry me when we get back from our honeymoon.”

After Lucas put Brad on his feet next to the bed. He frowned up at Lucas. “I better start bulking up.”

Lucas kissed Brad gently and began to undo his shirt. “I can carry you again. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to.”

Brad began to work on Lucas's shirt, as Lucas made his way to his neck. “Mm. That's waking me up.”

Lucas had got Brad's shirt undone. He continued on his neck, as he ran his hand up the side of Brad's zipper, before starting to work on his belt. “Yes you are.”

Brad pulled Lucas’s shirt off his shoulders and turned him to the bed. “You know what that does to me.”

Lucas pulled away from Brad's neck and sat on the bed, as he undid the hook on Brad's pants and slid down the zipper, all the while looking up into Brad's eyes. “Over the years, I've learned all your hot spots. I plan to explore every one of them.”

Brad pushed Lucas back on the bed and laid on top of him. He was inches from his face, and looked down on him with his eyes narrowed. “Ohh. Is that a threat?”

Lucas slid his hands into the back of Brad’s pants, working them down, as he massaged his cheeks and pulled him into his own growing erection. “I don't make threats. Do you feel that?”

Brad groaned and lowered his face to Lucas's, kissing him deeply.

Lucas decided that he'd had enough of his pants. He rolled Brad to his back and pushed up off of him. Brad wasn't happy with the maneuver or the loss of his kissing partner. He pushed up on his elbows. “Hey! I was kissing those lips.”

Lucas worked on the button on his pants. “I was feeling a little confined.”

Brad smiled and sat up, then began to pull at Lucas's pants. “Why didn't you say so. I can help you with that.”

Lucas allowed Brad to relieve him of his pants and underwear, but stopped him from going any further. He grabbed him by his shoulders and leaned in close to his face. “Here I am naked and you still have your shirt and pants on. Doesn't seem fair.”

Brad removed his shirt, then lifted his hips and watched Lucas as he slid his pants off. He laid on the bed in front of him, his arms behind his head. “Better?”

Lucas crawled back onto the bed and lowered himself on top of his husband. Taking his lips again with his own. “Much.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad was awaken by his husband, as he gently kissed his ear while he ran his hand over his member. “Mmmm. That's quite the wake up call.”

Lucas moved to Brad's neck. “I woke up hungry, then I saw you and thought you wouldn't mind if I nibbled a bit.”

Brad lifted his hand and ran it through Lucas's hair and enjoyed his lips on his neck for a bit, before turning around. “Good morning Dr Jones.”

Lucas laid down on his pillow facing Brad. “Good morning Mr Cooper.”

Brad frowned. “Maxie and Lulu were right.”

Lucas adjusted himself of the pillow. “About what?”

Brad took Lucas's hand. “Our names. Should we change them?”

Lucas frowned. “You don't look like a Brad Jones.”

Brad agreed. “That does sound weird. Dr Lucas Cooper is no better.”

Lucas laced his fingers between Brad's. “No it doesn't. I say we stay the same. It's not like we're traditional. If we ever have children, I think we should hyphenate them though.”

Brad thought that was a good idea. “Sounds like a plan.”

There was a knock on the door. Lucas got up. “That must be breakfast.”

Brad pushed up on his elbow. “When did you order that?”

Lucas grabbed a robe and opened the door. “I told you that I was hungry.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lucas removed the covers from his face. “I need to come up for air.”

Brad mumbled something from under the covers making Lucas laugh. He laughed and swatted at the covers. “Stop! Come up here.”

Brad flipped down the covers from the bottom of the bed. “You know that means I win.”

Lucas didn't like losing. “Fine, you win. I'm still full from that breakfast.”

Brad liked winning. “It was more like lunch. We really slept in.”

Lucas picked up Brad's foot and began to massage it. “I don't think we got to sleep before 3. What did you do to your foot? It feels so soft.”

Brad ran his hand along Lucas's shin. “Was it that late? Rosalie took me to a spa. We got the works. I think our hotel has one. We'll have to check it out. You'll love it.”

Lucas continued to play with Brad's foot. “I'll love anything, as long as I'm with you.”

Brad put his hands behind his head. “Really? I'm going to have to use that to my advantage. Because that's obviously the afterglow of the wedding talking.”

Lucas put down Brad's foot and made his way down to the bottom of the bed. “Maybe, but I'm serious. For so long, I was scared because I wasn't sure what was going to happen, with Paul and the divorce…”

Brad ran his hand over Lucas's arm. “I'm sorry. I know it was hard for you.”

Lucas looked into Brad's face and ran his hand along his cheek. “I'm not complaining. It was all worth it. You're mine. No wives or secrets and our family is behind us.”

Brad put his finger to Lucas's mouth. “Shhhh. You don't want to jinx us.”

Lucas took Brad's hand from his mouth and kissed it. “You're right, but after what we've been through, I would think that at least for a little while it should be clear sailing.”

Brad smiled. “Well, nothing is going to happen to us while we're in this room. So I'm ready to claim my prize.”

Lucas fell onto his back. “I thought you'd wait until we were on our official honeymoon.”

Brad undid himself from the covers and got out of bed and went into the bathroom. “Well, we can do it again.”

Lucas lifted up and frowned at his husband. “Where are you going?”

Brad peeked back out. “I get to pick our next sexual position.”

Lucas nodded. “Yeah.”

Brad disappeared again. “Did you see the jacuzzi tub in this bathroom? I figured we could come up with endless possibilities.”

Lucas threw off the cover and hopped out of bed to catch up with his husband. “I sure do love you.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brad sat in the jacuzzi and Lucas was seated across from him. “We should probably get out. I'm getting wrinkly.”

Brad poured the last of the champagne into his glass. “I guess you're right. We're out of champagne anyway. Plus I'm suppose to meet Jade and Yank for dinner.”

Lucas sat up to get out. “Is it that late? what is it about you that makes me forget about time. Luckily it's not as bad as when we got back together that one time. We should get going.”

Brad placed his foot on Lucas's chest to stop him from getting up. “We’ve got time. They’ll understand if we're late and I'm not ready to share you yet.”

Lucas settled back down and grabbed Brad's foot. “I feel the same way, but when we're in Bora Bora you won't have to share me with anyone for a whole week.”

Brad smiled at the thought. “That sounds so good. You, the beach and no one else. Especially Dr O.”

Lucas let go of Brad's foot and frowned. “Why would you bring her up?”

Brad rubbed his foot over Lucas's chest. “I'm sorry. I just meant that we didn't have to work.”

Lucas wasn't really upset. “That I can agree with. I love my job, but I've been really looking forward to some r and r.”

Brad’s foot slid under the water and found Lucas's member, then began to massage it. “I can't wait”.

Lucas bit his lip and began to groan. “What are you doing? I thought that we had to meet Jade and Yank.”

Brad pushed up and moved over to Lucas's side, when he felt the response that he was hoping for. “My husband is more important. They can wait a little longer.”

Lucas grabbed Brad by the face and pulled him to him. “It took awhile to get here, but I already love being married to you.”

**THE END**


End file.
